Wilderness LandSAR (search and rescue) dog Lochy got a special shout-out from Wānaka Police senior sergeant Fiona (Fi) Roberts this week for his role in a SAR call-out.

Fi thanked the SAR volunteers and gave a special mention to Lochy, who had played an integral role in one of week’s four rescues.

She wouldn’t provide many details due to privacy concerns but confirmed Lochy had “pretty much enabled SAR to bring someone home”.

Lochy’s handler, Dave Krehic, said Lochy (a three-year-old mix of pointer/labrador/heading dog) is “a very talented working dog and family pet”.

With years of training and assessing dogs, puppy selection is most important, and Lochy (Dave's third operational search dog) was Dave's pick of the breeds. 

Dave has been working with wilderness LandSAR dogs for 25 years but only moved to Wānaka five years ago, bringing “that extra element” to the well established Wānaka team.

Lochy is a qualified wilderness LandSAR tracking dog and has had this operational status since 2022. The team is evaluated every year by NZ Police to maintain high standards.

“Wānaka is a pretty special group to belong to because of the diverse range of skills within the group,” Dave said. “I’m just another part of the picture.”

“When the police get a call from a family who is worrying about someone missing they initiate LandSAR and the Wānaka group call in the appropriate specialist teams required, including dog teams such as myself and Lochy.

“If they have a last known point for a missing person, Lochy and I might get called in to track that person from that point.”

When there is no last-known point for a missing person, wilderness LandSAR dogs can patrol an area such as a road, track or boundary fence looking for where someone has been or has left the track. 

Dave and support team members communicate with the SAR incident management team during a search and feed back any information about clues found, such as boot prints or small articles.

“Most tracking dogs can follow a scent within 24 hours but it’s totally dependent on weather conditions and terrain,” Dave said. 

“We do not require a 'scent article', as you see in the movies.”

Lochy goes to work with Dave (an auto electrician with his own battery business) every day.

“Our relationship is so strong. The dog knows me, and I know his body language when he’s working for me - that’s why we're called a team.

“Lochy is still a very young dog so [he] will be a great asset to Wānaka for many years to come.”

Wānaka LandSAR is one of the busiest SAR operations in the country. It is entirely volunteer-run and members leave work and busy lives for call-outs. People can donate to the organisation here.