# Canada stops using ‘avalanche dogs’ for rescues in Rocky Mountains, stirring outrage

- Link: https://antisocial.news/canada-stops-using-avalanche-dogs-for-rescues-in-rocky-mountains-stirring-outrage/
- Published: 2026-10-30T17:00:00+00:00
- Author: Stringer

For 55 years, the government used rescue dogs in the Canadian Rocky Mountains who
were trained to trace “everything”, Ward said, from a small paper clip to shell 
casings to a human body.

After avalanches, a common winter hazard in the area, they were called upon to search
for trapped hikers or skiers underneath heavy mounds of snow.

“It saves probers hours and hours of standing shoulder to shoulder and poking in
the snow, and also exposing themselves to secondary avalanche hazards,” Ward said.

In the summer, they helped find ankle biters who got lost, often after wandering
away from their parents’ campsites.

“We lost a huge public safety and staff safety resource,” he said.

Other countries still rely on canines, often called “avalanche dogs”, for mountain
search and rescue, including [Italy, external](https://www.gdf.gov.it/it/chi-siamo/organizzazione/specializzazioni/soccorso-alpino/chi-siamo/le-unita-cinofile-da-soccorso).

The last dog in Parks Canada’s programme, a German Shephard named Leroy, was retired
in August.

For the seven years that he was on the job, Leroy helped track 156 people, find 
57 who were lost in the wilderness, and solve two murders in Banff.

A new canine was trained and ready for duty before Parks Canada gave notice last
week that the programme would be eliminated as part of recent C$145m ($104m; £78m)
budget cuts to Parks Canada, local newspaper Rocky Mountain Outlook reported.

Along with his petition, Stevenson also raised the issue in Canada’s parliament 
during a late sitting on Thursday.

In response, Ryan Turnball, a Liberal MP and the parliamentary secretary for finance,
said the government is focused on reducing Canada’s deficit and “ensuring public
funds support growth, resilience and the well-being of Canadians”.

Stevenson said he will continue to push on the issue, and has asked for a sit-down
meeting with Parks Canada’s CEO.

As for Ward, he hopes that the programme will soon be restored.

He recalled a quote that was often uttered by an old park warden who trained him:“
You can make an armpit smell like a lilac bush and you can put a man on the moon,
but nothing can replace the nose of the avalanche dog.”

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