Shilah's fun and games have a serious side

She is playful, partial to a cheerio and loves biting rubber milking teats, but border collie Shilah is fast becoming a skilled search and rescue dog.

The 16-month-old canine is being trained by Aokautere woman Christine Scott to become just the third Land Search and Rescue (Landsar) dog in the North Island.

The two other North Island Landsar dogs are in Wellington and Auckland. There are 10 in the South Island, and 12 avalanche-trained dogs nationwide.

Mrs Scott, a Landsar member for eight years, bought Shilah at seven weeks old from an Otaki breeder.

"We always had the idea to train her in mind," she said.MORE>>