They call him ‘the wonder dog’ for a reason

It didn’t take long for Chase to prove his worth.

The Labrador retriever found his first missing person in Kelowna this morning, two weeks after his first deployment with Central Okanagan Search And Rescue (COSAR).

COSAR was called out at 2 a.m. Thursday (April 15) to assist Kelowna RCMP to find a patient who had walked away from Kelowna General Hospital shortly after surgery.

Ground crews on foot and ebikes searched the area along Abbott Street, and at 8 a.m., a team found the missing subject’s backpack.

Chase, who search members call ‘The Wonder Dog,’ was brought to the scene and within minutes he had located the 86-year-old man laying under a pile of leaves and suffering from severe hypothermia.

Search dog Chase (Submitted photo/COSAR)

Chase is 2.5-years-old and, along with his handler Terry Downs, has spent over 2,000 hours on training.

“Research has shown that search and rescue dogs are the equivalent to 20 ground personnel,” says COSAR search manager Kevin Birnie. “He proved his worth today.”