Peeblesshire News | News | One man and his scent for success

Published: Friday, 11th July, 2008 12:36

One man and his scent for success

By David O'Leary

The Borders has long been know for its export of both tweed and cloth. But for over thirty years one local man has been quietly exporting the key ingredient needed to foil international drug cartels and rescue survivors from natural disasters.

The man is Tom Middlemas and the key ingredient, his sniffer dogs. Since 1986, Tom alongside his wife Shona have run Arthurshiel Rescue Centre in Newtown and he has been involved with the training of search and rescue dogs since 1967.

His services and his dogs have been used by agencies such as the police, fire brigade, search and rescue and various nuclear authorities; in countries as varied as Germany, Austrailia, Turkey, Greece, Spain and Norway.

The training of these dogs can take up to 2 years and Tom looks for those that are energetic and inquisitive or in other words a bit of a handful.

He said: “They’ve also got to be even tempered and steady. Up to 11 months is the schooling phase of all dogs, anything you teach them up to then will stay in their long-term memory bank and they’ll never forget it.

“It becomes their way of life. Anything you teach a dog over a year old, you’ll need to keep retraining it on refresher courses.

“The basic training is the same for all my dogs. I take them up to a certain level where they’ll search for a toy, before then passing them over to whatever agency, be it missing persons, drugs, explosives or arson.

“They can put the dog onto whatever scent they want. One of my dogs is with the prison service searching for lithium batteries because mobile phones are such a commodity within prisons. I could give them this specific training but once a dog is trained on a specific scent then that’s all it can do”

A number of handlers and dogs trained by Tom were recently deployed in the wake of an earthquake in Greece, which left two dead and over 30 injured.

Although the work of these dogs is life-saving and critical, the training still just revolves around them following their extraordinary noses.

Tom said: “You just begin to incorporate a human for the toy and as the training develops they begin to realise that they’re searching for the human and not the toy.

“Sadly, of course, they’re trained to find only living persons not dead. We do this by loading the area up with all the scents that we want them to discount such as food and clothing and then reward them on breath and sweat.

“There’s nothing yet that can compare with a dogs nose you can use heat seeking equipment and listening devices but a dog is still quicker.

“Bloodhounds are amazing they can tell one scent among thousands. Their ears are long for a reason, they help stir the air and waft the scent past their nose. Their heads are also designed for scent as their brows and wrinkles help push the air down onto the nose.”

Over 500 dogs a year are taken in at Arthurshiel and Tom will train up any that show potential. The dogs are paid for by the council for the first seven days and after that are then signed over to Arthushiel. Tom believes that outwith vet’s bills each dog costs around #700 a year to shelter.

Their hydrotherapy pool, which is used in the rehabilitation of dogs following accidents or surgery, covers some of these costs but Tom feels other costs are forced upon them.

He said: “Sometimes people just aren’t brave enough to put their own dog to sleep and them we receive them. Another issue is people giving us a dog because it’s bitten, or acted aggressively with, a family member.

“Of course, we soon realise that this isn’t true because the dog is even-tempered and placid. What people don’t realise is that we can’t rehome a dog if it’s believed to have attacked someone.”

Another issue that Tom takes umbrage with regards that of the whole ‘A puppy is for life not just for Christmas’ campaign. He said: “Statistics show that it’s at this time of the year that shelters begin to see these Christmas puppies. It’s when they are 6 or 7 months old that people begin to get sick of looking after them.

“Maybe people are considering going on holiday, then the dog chews the sofa again and it’s right, lets get rid and go on holiday. It’s this time of year that we need the funding.

It’s the chance to give these dogs a second chance, with either a job or a new home, that Tom most enjoys. And a lot of the time it’s this, which is all that’s needed.

He said: “The major problem is that dogs have been bred over the centuries to follow instructions. Most are working dogs so when that aspect is removed they act up.

“Dogs crave control and this doesn’t mean shouting at them or threatening them with a big stick but making them realise that you’re in charge. Give them fair leadership and they’ll react to it.”

One recent addition to the shelter that’s reacting well to her treatment is rottweiler, Roxy. James and Emma Naughton handed her over to the shelter after finding her emaciated on a building site in Motherwell.

James said: “I found her at work one day scavenging food from the bins. She was in a right state, all skin and bone. I thought maybe she had just had puppies and that was why she was so skinny.”

A couple of days after the couple took the dog in she gave birth to no less than 12 puppies.

Emma said: “We couldn’t believe it because there was basically nothing of her there. Sadly two died but that still didn’t alter the fact that we couldn’t care for 11 dogs.

“I began ringing around numerous shelters in the Glasgow and Hamilton areas and was told that they all had no room due to people leaving their dogs in kennels whilst on holidays. Then we rang Arthurshiel and thankfully they took her.”

Tom said: “The puppies are right little characters we’ll find homes for them no problem. She’s also got a great temperament and we’ll find her a home eventually when she’s back to full health.”

The centre offers a home to a wide-range of animals, not just dogs, such as horses, sheep, cats and rabbits. You can help out Arthurhiel and these animals by joining as a member, sponsoring an animal, homing an animal or making a donation. Further information on this can be found on the website www.arthurshiel-rescue.org

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