The Jackson Hole Patrol Dogs are the hardest working canines in the valley. Day in and day out they work alongside ski patrol practicing search and rescue techniques. More than just members of the patrol, these dogs are family members of the patrollers who take care of them. Their individual personalities run wild until playtime is over and work begins.
The function of the Avalanche dogs is to find people who are buried in avalanches.
They work for us because it’s fun and if we don’t keep it fun then they
don’t want to do it. To them, it’s just a game, they have no idea the serious nature of the work. We keep it very light-hearted and nothing but a game.
Shannon Brown has Sable which is a Boykin Spaniel who doesn’t look like a typical Avalanche dog but is actually just an amazing dog.
Ric Frost has Cricket which is a black lab female who’s older, and then he also has Diggy so he’s got two black female black labs dogs. Chris Brindisi has Josie and Wookie those are both German Shepherds.
It takes about two years to get a dog to where they’ll test out and validate and search really well.
