For work, Mark Chadwick is an International Mountain Guide and Outdoor Instructor, which basically means he gets paid to take people climbing, mountaineering, and skiing while making sure they don’t meet an untimely end — and he’s absolutely living his best life doing it.
When he’s not leading clients up icy ridges or down powdery slopes, Mark puts his skills to work providing safety and risk assessments for film and TV productions, keeping the drama on screen instead of in the ER.
For over three years, Mark has been a dedicated member of SARDA Scotland, and he couldn’t be prouder of his search and rescue dog, Mac — a furry hero always ready to sniff out trouble and save the day.
He’s also part of the Cairngorm and Glenmore Lodge Mountain Rescue Team, bringing serious mountain know-how to every rescue. Before that, Mark honed his skills with the Oban and Dundonnell MRTs, proving he’s no stranger to wild conditions and tough calls.
And just to round things out, he’s done stints ski patrolling at Nevis Range and Glenshee, keeping the slopes safe for everyone from shaky first-timers to fearless backcountry chargers.
Of course, none of this epic mountain life would be possible without the unwavering love and support of his wife, Deziree — the real MVP behind Mark’s adventures.
Tell us all about all the dogs you've loved in your life.
The first dog we owned as a family was a Jack Russell, called Lady (from Lady and the Tramp). She was a feisty wee sheep chaser, which didn’t go down well living in the farming village of Gairloch in the Northwest of Scotland.
Next was Ceilidh, a collie cross, who came to us as a pup from a friend’s croft. She was my first dog and an incredible mountain dog, extremely smart, and great on steep terrain.
So much so that my dad initially started training her for search and rescue work. This is what sowed the seed of search dog work in my head as a wee boy.
Next came Josie, who was to be a companion for Ceilidh; she was a pure Collie from working stock, but if I was being honest, she was not the sharpest tool in the box… but a lovely hound all the same.
After leaving home for college at 18 and for the following twenty-plus years, a busy working and personal life didn’t allow for any dogs.
Then a few life twists and turns happened, which meant I was home a lot more and not away guiding in the Alps as much. COVID happened, plus I received a bilateral hip replacement. This all meant I was home more and could potentially manage to have a dog around.
Then arrived Mac Dog, who came from the SSPCA home. We received his pictures and videos on Christmas Eve and were asked if we’d consider taking him in. He was pure white with two massive black ears, a six-month-old collie cross pup. He was a cracking wee doggy.
Roll on three years of hard work, and Mac is now a fully trained SARDA Scotland search and rescue dog. He has conducted numerous searches throughout Scotland, and to date, he has one successful find to his name.
You're obviously a huge dog lover. How long have dogs been a major part of your life, and how would you explain the importance of dogs to someone who hadn't ever experienced the joy of a canine/human relationship in their life?
As you can see, dogs have been a significant part of my life from a young age. Even when we didn’t own one ourselves.
Mac has a job, and it’s a vitally important job; searching for the lost or people who need to be found is an incredible responsibility, and with it comes great highs and lows. He’s an excellent search and rescue dog, as are all the dogs in SARDA.
We receive immense satisfaction from his company, now that he’s a bit older and settled down. When he was a pup, he’d drive us crazy with his constant need for involvement.
For anyone who has never had the pleasure of owning a dog, they prove to be companions and sources of love; they can at times read your moods and often behave accordingly, giving you that bit of attention just when you need it most.
The time and effort that you put into their training and well-being are repaid tenfold in their deep connection and unwavering faithfulness.
What are your favourite things to do with your dog(s)?
Without a doubt, it is to search with Mac. Whether it’s for real, looking for someone in need or training out on the hill, it’s all a game for Mac and his favourite one at that. He also loves the reward-tugging toy game at the conclusion of a successful search.
You have a really interesting career... What advice would you give to the many people who want to follow your path in career terms? What are the absolute best (and worst) things about your work?
You must be strong in the hills and already have a solid mountain rescue background. As a search and rescue dog handler, you and your dog are often operating as a solo team with little or no support immediately available.
You often find yourself in challenging terrain, whether in summer or winter conditions, navigating and keeping yourselves safe while searching your designated area.
The ultimate feeling is finding a missing person and knowing that you and your dog have contributed to the success of that search.
Here are our quick-fire questions. Are you ready?
Which do you prefer and why?
Big dogs or little dogs?
Medium-sized, you can still lift and move them yourself, but they are big enough to cover rough terrain and can keep on the move for most of the day.
Calm, relaxed dogs or dogs who live at 100mph?
For search and rescue, you need a dog who can listen to commands and think for themselves at times. But they also need to be able to be wound up and motivated to search and play.
Dogs who do as they're asked most of the time, or dogs who do pretty much whatever they like whenever they like?
Again, I need a dog who will listen to me when instructed; a successful search dog is about finding a dog who is confident enough to range and work independently while checking in with me from time to time.
Dogs who love to walk by your side or dogs who like to race off and cover ten thousand yards in 3 seconds?
Our search dogs can’t live by our sides as they need to search huge areas of hills or countryside. They also have to go through an obedience test where they must walk to heal and on a lead. This can often prove challenging for these dogs, which are naturally inclined to range.
Nighttime or early morning?
Searching at night is hard for you as a handler; the dogs often seem to cope easily with it. My favoured time would be early morning, often with beautiful light on the hill and the knowledge that the day is coming and the darkness is over.
Describe the last time you laughed out loud because of something you saw a dog do.
Mac will often fight sleep when he’s actually really tired. He’ll sit or lay but not allow his head to touch down, then ensues the noddy dog stage, where his head drifts up and down as he tries to fight sleep. This often has us laughing out loud.
Tell us about some of the most memorable moments from your work.
Without a doubt, Mac found a local person who’d been missing since the night before, alive and grateful for being found. There were police, helicopters, mountain rescue teams, the fire service, and SARDA Scotland dogs all searching for them.
Another would be being winched out of the Coastguard Search and Rescue helicopter onto the Skye Ridge. Being winched out yourself onto this terrain is wild enough, but having your dog harnessed and in your arms is even more memorable.
This is always a tough question and often requires some serious thought… If dogs had the ability to speak, and you could ask your dog just one question and one question only, what would you ask them, and what do you think that they'd say?
Q. Why do you hate the smoothie maker so much?
A. It’s the eviliest of kitchen monsters that must be slayed.
Can you tell us more about the role SARDA’s dogs play in search and rescue efforts across Scotland?
Search and Rescue Dog Association dogs are available 365 days of the year, every hour of every week. The handlers and personnel who assist in training and managing the callouts do this all voluntarily. We can cover the whole of Scotland and have even deployed to the Lake District.
The dogs and handlers can cover huge areas of ground far faster than a human search team can. The dogs search well during the daytime, at night, in poor visibility, and in most weather conditions.
If someone has been buried in the snow in an avalanche, the dogs can be one of the greatest assets in the chance of the buried person being found.
The SARDA Scotland dogs and handlers can be requested by their local mountain rescue team, the police, or any rescue team that has a missing person and deems dogs as a useful option in a search.
The dog teams can be deployed by road, or, often, helicopters are used to fly us into specific search locations. We have even been deployed by boat to specific search areas, such as the Isle of Rum.
We are often just one aspect of a search operation. The Team Leader or Search Coordinator will help decide where best to use the dogs and where other assets should be used, like drones, search teams, helicopters, and other vehicles.
What are the dangers for rescue dogs in the Scottish Highlands?
There are many ground features that present a hazard to a dog team, such as steep ground, cliffs, loose rock, slippery rock, rivers, ice, deep snow, and avalanche hazards.
The other hazards that are a real daily challenge and danger to the dogs are ticks and fleas. These parasites can carry diseases that can make our dogs seriously ill or even kill them.
The terrain in which we operate, whether during everyday life or on rescues, often exposes dogs to these parasite hazards. Therefore, it is critical that our dogs are protected from these potential illnesses.
How are SARDA’s rescue dogs being protected?
Each dog handler has their own preferred method for protecting their dog against parasites. Some use tick and flea collars, some use chewable medication, and some may use other types of repellents.
Each of these options has drawbacks and doesn’t always work as well as hoped. Some are bad for the environment, some you need to remember when to give the medication, and some just don’t work as well as hoped.
MSD Animal Health injectable tick and flea treatment is a game-changer for us. Helping to remove all hurdles that the previous options presented, and providing year-round protection.
What types of environments and challenges do these dogs typically face during a rescue mission?
Every Call-Out and deployment is different… You could be searching the banks of a river, covering fields and forests, open hillside, rough mountain terrain, snow-covered hills and mountains, and more.
We need to train in all these environments to prepare ourselves and the dogs and to identify the dogs’ strengths and weaknesses. Some dogs are good on steep ground, some search forests better, and some are excellent in the snow.
Challenges are also vast and varied. As a dog handler, you must not only look after yourself in some of the most hazardous and challenging terrain and weather conditions, but also look after your dog as well.
A rescuer’s rucksack is often big and heavy, containing personal and rescue-specific equipment, but on top of this, we must also carry the dog's kit. This often consists of food and water, a helicopter harness, a search coat, a warm coat, and more. Adding several more kilos of weight.
A search can be focused on a small area if there is good intelligence, either through a phone call, a route car, or the police tracing the missing person’s phone.
Or the search can be extensive, with little viable information to help us determine the person's location. These searches can go on for days and can prove incredibly tiring for all personnel and dogs involved.
Thanks, Chad!
SARDA Scotland - https://www.sarda-scotland.org
Scottish Mountain Rescue - https://www.scottishmountainrescue.org
Burns Pet Food - https://burnspet.co.uk
