THE head of a search and rescue charity dogs team has praised the work of a Binfield veterinary hospital as they celebrate 10 years of working together.

Jon Bromley, chairman of the Berkshire Search and Rescue (SAR) Dogs team, the county’s volunteer dog organisation, has publicly thanked the team at Moor Cottage Veterinary Hospital, in London Road, for their ongoing support, as well as for the care they gave his own terminally-ill pet.

SAR dogs are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to assist lowland search and rescue teams, the police and other emergency services in locating lost or missing vulnerable people.

The animals need to be in peak physical fitness to carry out the searches, be fully inoculated and undergo regular health checks, all of which have been looked after by Moor Cottage for the past 10 years.

Jon said: “Our search and rescue team is made up entirely of volunteers, who are giving up their time and spending their own money on training and equipping their dogs to assist the police in high-risk missing person searches, so the way Moor Cottage supports us is perfect.

“They are a terrific partner and enable our handlers to get top quality care and vet facilities for less than the going rate, which is fantastic as it eases the financial burden on our volunteers and still ensures they receive an excellent service.”

Jon revealed he also has a personal debt of gratitude to Moor Cottage following the death of his companion and SAR dog, Collie-cross Ahsoka.

He said: “I know from painful personal experience how good, caring and supportive they are.

“My pet, Ahsoka, qualified as a search dog in December 2016 but in July last year was diagnosed with a very aggressive mast cell tumour that had effectively eaten away at a bone in one of her rear legs.

“After lengthy discussions with the vets, we made the difficult decision to amputate the leg with the tumour, as there was a real risk of it fracturing at any time and obviously a risk the cancer could spread.

“You can imagine the emotional turmoil this kind of news brings but Moor Cottage supported me all the way.

“Ahsoka had her leg amputated and was home the next day, quite quickly adapting to a three-legged life and even returned to training with the team.

“The plan was to get her fitness up to scratch and start deploying her again but, sadly, the cancer had other ideas.

“In December, she deteriorated and more and more tumours appeared. After assessing the risks and her quality of life, the decision was made to say goodbye.

“During the entire process, the support from the vets, nurses and staff at Moor Cottage was first class and I could not have wished for better care for her.

“I’m not sure whose heart broke more the day we said goodbye, ours or theirs. She had become so well known to all the staff there that I genuinely felt they were sharing our pain and this meant an awful lot.”

Roberta Duncan, clinical director at Moor Cottage, said: “We think Berkshire Search and Rescue do a fantastic job of helping to save lives and we are pleased and proud to support them in looking after these very special dogs.”

Although based in Berkshire, the county’s specialist SAR team is frequently called out to operate in nearby counties such as Surrey, Wiltshire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire. On average, they are called out three times a month to search for people who have gone missing.

For more information on Berkshire Search and Rescue Dogs visit www.k9-sar.com. For more information on Moor Cottage Veterinary Hospital, which has served the Bracknell area for more than 50 years, visit www.mcvh.co.uk.