Sure Wylie is cute, but that's not the reason he hangs out at the Tamarack Resort in Tamarack, ID. He's there to save a life.
The 9-year-old Australian shepherd is one of four dogs at the ski resort trained to find victims buried by an avalanche, a big threat in the area. Much the bomb-sniffing dogs in the military, these pooches are trained to use their powerful senses in an important way.
Below we watch the incredible pooch in action during a staged exercise. It doesn't take him long to sniff out the person stuck under the snow.
"For the dogs, it’s relatively simple," Wylie's handler, Colin Gamble, told Idaho Statesman. "In an avalanche slide path, it’s pretty much wiped clean of most scent. If someone is buried there, they see this giant scent cone, if you will, and they can see that right off. An avalanche dog can do the work of 20 people in 5 minutes. So a half an hour of 20 people searching, an avalanche dog can do that same area in about 5 minutes. It greatly increases our speed, especially if they’re not wearing proper avalanche gear. The first thing we would do is look for an avalanche beacon."
Watch below and please SHARE if you're stunned by this incredible Australian shepherd!
