A MOBBERLEY rescue dog is set to retire after returning from his final life-saving mission to Nepal following last month's devastating earthquake.

Bryn, an eleven-year-old Border collie has travelled the world for almost ten years with his handler Steve Buckley, a fire-fighter with Cheshire Fire and Rescue service and a member of the UK international search and rescue team (UKISAR).

Steve has trained Bryn from a puppy and the pair are now recognised as one of the best dog and handler team in the country.

Their partnership came about after Steve was inspired by rescue dogs in India, and approached his Chief Fire Officer to appeal for his own companion.

He said: “I was in India with UKISAR in 2001 following the Gujarat earthquake. 12,300 people lost their lives. The UK team had only one dog at that time but it was there that I saw search dogs in action for the first time.

“Where it could take our team two or three hours to clear an area, despite all the technical equipment and cameras, those dogs and handlers could cover the ground so much quicker. The dogs worked over a building straight away to search out live casualties before moving on to the next area. The speed at which they worked clearly improved the chances of trapped casualties.”

Steve received Bryn via donation from a West Midlands woman with a litter of puppies, and began to learn how to train rescue dogs.

“You need a dog with focus, you need a dog with ball drive,” he said. “Bryn had both in abundance even at 10 weeks old. You’d throw the ball out, he’d go and pick it up and drop it back at your feet, which is half-way there.

Bryn got his UKISAR grading in 2005, meaning that he could go out on international search and rescue missions.

Since then he has travelled across the globe, taking part in some of most vigorous tests in the world and helping in numerous disaster areas, but now it is time for him to put away his passport.

Steve said: “Bryn is brilliant at finding people in the rubble, but he is also a member of my family. We work together each day and go home together each night.”

As a vital member of Steve’s team, Bryn will continue to work for the Avon Fire and Rescue Urban Search team, who deal with gas explosions, terrorist attacks, building collapses and missing persons.

But although Bryn will continue to train, it is time for him to put his paws up and get some well-earned rest.