Dog Teaches Other Dogs to Save Avalanche Victims

Zen, a 5-year-old border collie, circled around a mound of snow as he picked up a scent, his quick movements signaling to his handler that someone was buried deep below. Zen has been a rescue dog for three years, and on this day he was helping train 20 other dogs being certified for avalanche rescue in the Italian Dolomites. The role of dogs in Italian Alpine rescues is becoming more important, as the number of people caught by avalanches increases—up by 50% over the past 25 years, per the AP.

• Stats: Avalanches involving people who need rescue in Italy have doubled since the turn of the century, from a rolling average of 30 a year to 60, per the AINEVA snow and avalanche monitoring service. During the same period, the number of excursionists struck on average also increased significantly, from 65 a year to 110 a year.

• Time factor: For those buried, the best chance for survival comes when a person is freed in the first 10 to 15 minutes, says Igor Chiambretti, AINEVA's technical chief. If not found within 35 minutes, studies show 70% of victims die of asphyxiation.
• Canine assistance: A trained avalanche rescue dog's nose can locate someone buried deep in the snow more accurately than any transponder, making their role fundamental in reaching victims "in the shortest possible time,'' says Adriano Favre, who ran the canine training camp in the mountains above the Cortina D'Ampezzo ski resort.
• At the scene: Rescue dogs in Italy are always on the first helicopter leaving the base, though it typically takes 15 to 20 minutes to arrive at any avalanche scene. Putting a pair of avalanche dogs at ski areas instead would reduce that time to five minutes. In Italy, 80 avalanche dogs are active.
• Upped risk: Climate change has made heavy, wet snow more common, making avalanche survival less likely by compressing air pockets that would allow a trapped skier to breathe. "Consequences of burial will be more severe," while blunt trauma will become more likely as snow cover becomes thinner, per a 2021 study published in Frontiers in Physiology. "Asphyxia and trauma, as causes of avalanche death, may increase."

More here. (More avalanche stories.)