Quake hero Echo’s award

Rescue dog Echo with handler Mike Dewar

CHADDERTON rescue dog Echo proved he really was man’s best friend when he helped to rescue victims of the Haiti earthquake.

And the seven-year-old Labrador’s efforts will now be officially recognised with a special award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Echo, who is based at Chadderton fire station, will pay a visit to London with his handler Mike Dewar tomorrow to collect his award at the House of Lords.

The dog is trained to sniff out survivors and he regularly attends incidents, such as collapsed buildings, throughout Greater Manchester.

In January, Echo and Mike flew to Haiti to assist in the international aid effort following the earthquake which left around 200,000 dead and 250,000 injured.

Despite the challenging and hazardous environment, Echo worked tirelessly carrying out search after search through the rubble of collapsed and unstable buildings.

By the eighth day of their 12-day mission, Echo became so exhausted from working in the searing temperatures that he collapsed and had to be put on a drip.

Fortunately he recovered quickly and was able to carry on but he then faced six months in quarantine after returning to the UK.

He is now back at work in Chadderton where he has become a local celebrity and is particularly popular with children.

Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW, said: “We are very pleased to be able to highlight the amazing service given by working dogs such as Echo at home and overseas and he is a very rewarding winner of our special Animal Award.”

Echo’s handler Mike said: “It is fantastic for Echo to receive this award. Everything we do with Echo and the other rescue dogs is based on play so he loves what he does and thinks it is always a game.

“For him it is about finding something then he knows he’ll get a squeaky toy to play with which makes him very happy.

“Haiti was a particularly challenging environment though as there were a lot of fatalities and initially he whined at the sight of so many bodies.

“He worked really hard out there.”