Читать книгу Dogs in the Leisure Experience - Neil Carr - Страница 18

There is a wide variety of tasks in which dogs are employed within the leisure environment. They are an interesting reflection of the diverse nature of dogs and the skill sets they have to offer. They include the sniffer dogs who patrol the airports of the world, searching for a diverse array of materials that include drugs, foodstuffs and explosives. Another arena in which dogs are employed is that of search and rescue, where they are tasked with finding lost and/or injured individuals out in the rural/wilderness landscape. Search and rescue operations in such areas have a long history and their growth is a reflection of the growing utilization of such spaces by people seeking outdoor hiking, climbing and skiing/snowboarding experiences. Consequently, the date of establishment and size of search and rescue dog associations is largely a reflection of the history and popularity of these types of tourism/recreation in the areas in which the associations are located. For example, in the UK the Search and Rescue Dog Association (SARDA) was formed in 1965 in the Scottish highlands (Locke, 1987), reflecting the wilderness of the region and its growing popularity with tourists. By 1971 SARDA had devolved into separate Scottish, English and Welsh associations, and today they exist under the wider umbrella of the National Search and Rescue Dog Association (SARDA England, 2014). In comparison, the American Rescue Dog Association was formed in 1972 after people in the Seattle area began training their dogs for avalanche work in the late 1960s (American Rescue Dog Association, 1991).

The most established image of the search and rescue dog is that of the St Bernard, which is not surprising as such animals are said to have been helping those lost in the Alps of Switzerland since the 17th century (Locke, 1987). Such has been the popularity of the image of the St Bernard rescuing the lost individual that it has entered the realm of fiction and fantasy. Indeed, Ash (1934) even suggests the notion of the St Bernard as a rescue dog in the Swiss Alps was a fabrication of the 19th century. Yet both the ‘real’ and more obviously fictional images of the St Bernard rescuing the unwary traveller are likely to be grounded, albeit often rather tenuously, in reality. It is just that the fictional and even apparently real descriptions are often not very accurate representations of what these dogs have done in the past or are capable of. Rather, these ­depictions are an example of how the dog in fiction and contemporary society in general has been anthropomorphized; of how it has been given human characteristics (or at least idealized human characteristics) and abilities that promote its loyalty to humanity and its role as carer and protector of humans. In doing so, such depictions draw dogs ever more into the ‘family’ as integral members but at the same time arguably distance them from what they really are (i.e. dogs), which can unfortunately set them up for failure.

The growth in the position of the rescue dog as a key component in ensuring the safety of those venturing into remote and wilderness areas during their leisure is exemplified by the number of call-outs that SARDA in the UK receive annually. Back in 1966, just after the formation of the organization, it received only four call-outs. In comparison Palmer (1983: 121) stated that: ‘Taking at random one year during the last ten, rescue dogs were called out on 32 different occasions to take part in searches in the following areas – the North-west, the Borders, Ben Nevis, Cairngorms, Glencoe and Central Scotland.’ By 2009 SARDA Scotland was called out 81 times (SARDA Scotland, 2014).

A specific component of the work undertaken by the search and rescue dog community is locating people trapped in avalanches. This growing line of work reflects the expanding numbers of people skiing and snowboarding, and doing so in the back country, where the risk of avalanche is higher than on the groomed slopes. Consequently, it was in 1978 that the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association was established in Whistler, Canada, reflecting the strong growth of the resort as a skiing destination at that time. These dogs increase the potential of surviving an avalanche exponentially as they ‘can search one hectare in 30 minutes. A line of human probers would take four hours to cover the same area’ (Ogilvie, 2006: B9).

The working dogs employed by the police and various military units tend to cross over into the arena of sport and leisure. In this case, the dogs and their handlers have a long history of putting on demonstrations of their skills for the enjoyment of the public. These dogs are clearly working animals though the demonstrations are in many ways a spectacle, a staged event, rather than the real work for which they are trained. Yet while giving these demonstrations to a leisured audience the dogs and their handlers are still working. Rather than it being their ‘job’ per se it is an opportunity for them to demonstrate their importance and worth to the public, and an ideal means through which their parent organizations can engage with the wider community and champion their work and objectives. The crossover between work and leisure is further amplified in this case when the establishment of police dog trials as a competitive sport is recognized. The rationale for the establishment of these trials is similar to that of sheep and gun dog trials, which are discussed in detail later in the chapter.

Dogs have the potential to undertake a vital role in the development of children through play. The place of play in leisure has long been established, as has the notion that play can and does act as a significant learning tool/environment in which childhood development can occur. It is a widely held belief that children and dogs are natural bedfellows in many ways and that the presence of a dog in a family will aid the development of a child as it grows up and they spend time playing together. In addition, the term ‘pet therapy’ (which can also be referred to as animal-assisted therapy) was coined in 1964 by the child psychiatrist Boris Levinson when he realized that children who were struggling for one reason or another could potentially be aided by dogs, through play (Herzog, 2010). Here then we see the dog as a potential tool, employed either formally or informally to aid the development of the child through play; a significant driving force behind the decision my wife and I made to bring our first dog into the family.

A recent development in the roles adopted by working dogs in the leisure experience is that of ‘canine ambassador’ or ‘meet and greet dogs’ that are beginning to work in airports. One of these dogs works at Miami International Airport as a volunteer alongside her owner. Her role is to help soothe the nerves of the frazzled traveller by simply being there to receive a pat, cuddle or gentle stroke. In effect this Golden Retriever, Casey as she is known, is a therapy dog and as such is doing work similar to those that visit hospitals and retirement homes. The work may seem easy for a dog; after all, most love a stroke and a show of affection. Yet as Casey’s handler points out, this is actually hard work for the dog. Being placed in an environment where there are huge numbers of people and being subjected to approaches from numerous strangers, not all of whom may approach her or touch her in a manner she is entirely comfortable with, can be extremely stressful for her (Hess, 2012). The canine ambassador programme is also operating at Los Angeles International Airport and Mineta San Jose International Airport in the USA (Kleven, 2013).