Astrid Laner has a very special relationship with dogs. Her keen instinct and deep understanding of the behaviour of the canines is a special gift. She puts her skills to good use in search and rescue dog work and shares her knowledge with others as an IRO Classifier and Judge. She revealed to us in an interview what role dogs play in her life.

How long have you been doing search and rescue dog work and how did you get started?

My father was one of the first to introduce search and rescue dog work in our home region of South Tyrol in the 1960s. When I was born years later in 1973, I was surrounded by dogs from the very first days of my life. My father was an enthusiastic breeder of German shepherds. At the age of seven I got my first dog, which I trained as a search and rescue dog with my father's help. At the age of ten, I passed my first nationally recognised search and rescue dog test without any assistance. And at the age of 14, I was allowed to go on my first real mission, where my dog and I were also successful. This means that I have been involved in search and rescue dog work for 44 years.

What was your motivation to get involved in a volunteer search and rescue dog unit?

I honestly never asked myself this question, as volunteering has always been a natural thing to do in my family. It is simply a wonderful feeling to be able to be there for people in need. Apart from that, my love for dogs is certainly a key inner motivation for my commitment. This unique relationship with our furry partners is worth much more than any money in the world and allows us to move mountains.

A loving bond between human and dog is the key to successful teamwork.

How can you balance regular training and deployments with work and family?

My job is all about animals too. We own a pet shop, a dog salon, a boarding kennel and a kennel for German Shepherds and Jack Russells. As I am self-employed and have the full support of my family, I can manage it all very well.

What was a particularly memorable deployment for you?

In 44 years of search and rescue dog work, I have completed quite a few missions. From searching for avalanche victims and missing persons in the forest to searching for people buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings. I can't refer to a single mission, as each one is its own challenge and experienced differently. I have always been particularly affected by missions involving the search for children. Avalanche missions, where the search is a race against time, are also emotionally and physically stressful.