Meet Mac, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s new four-legged recruit

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have recruited a new four-legged asset.

Mac, a three-year-old English Springer Spaniel is the new operational search dog for the Fire Service in Scotland.

He will join his fellow furry friend, Diesel to help keep Scotland’s communities safe.

Speaking of the recent qualification, dog handler and Crew Manager Gary Carroll said: “It’s a great feeling to be able to now announce Mac as a fully qualified search and rescue dog.

“We’ve had him since he was eight-weeks old so to get to this stage is a real proud moment.

“But it’s not just me that’s been involved, my wife, my family and the Fire Service have really helped us and got us to the stage of qualifying.”

Born in Suffolk, eight-week old pup Mac was taken home to Aberdeenshire by Gary and started his training a short time after settling in.

Mr Carrol continued: “Training starts very quickly, for instance with Mac, we allowed him to play with his toys by himself for months and then one day we take the toy away and hide it.

“Naturally, he’s annoyed and wants it back but the toy is only returned when he barks – that’s how we build his play drive.

“It’s really important for him to have a high play drive because in reality, searching and finding is just a big game to him.

He added: “If he searches, locates live human scent then barks he’s rewarded with his toy.

“There’s a few different ways to achieve this outcome, but for Mac it was started in the house – my wife would hide in different places and then reward him for finding her.

“That’s then progressed further and we get to the stage we’re at today.”

You can follow Diesel and Mac on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching for @SFRSdog.