Superdog of the Year 2021

Hetty is the first fully regulated and insured specialist search dog tracking down lost dogs in the UK. Along with her handler Ella Pompidor, Hetty specializes in ONLY tracking lost dogs, and is match scent trained which means she will only track THE lost dog even if its ‘scent is older than those of other dogs that may have passed through the area.

Cliverton is proud to insure and support Lost Dog Tracking, and teams trained by them

Hetty been nominated for Superdog of the Year 2021 for the incredible work she does.

Just to provide some background information on the role of Hetty and Ella, the work they do is fairly unique but extremely rewarding, especially when they locate a lost dog and reunite it with its’ owners.

Ella says “Our work is one option within the heart wrenching and incredibly complicated job of reuniting lost dogs with their families.

To do her job, Hetty is trained in scent detection, tracking and trailing so when the going gets tough she has all the skills in the bag.

As her handler I apply the knowledge of what affects scent patterns, which includes but is not exhaustive to weather, climate, rainfall, humidity, ground surface, vegetation, elevation, air pressure, the environment and many, many more things. I also have to understand pet dog, street dog and feral dog behaviour and the impact of the loss circumstances and survival mode.

It really is a team effort (hence the insurance is for a single handler and a single dog pairing…both parties have to meet the required standard).

It’s not always appropriate to track a lost dog depending on the time lost or perhaps the environment in which the dog was lost (i.e. unsafe roads or hazardous locations) and, sadly, there is not always a happy ending.

Sometimes, we can come face to face with a lost dog, sometimes a follow up capture plan is required, and sometimes it ends with a deceased dog. Each case really is unique. I’ve written a guide to finding lost dogs which is due for release shortly.”

As you can see the work that both Ella and Hetty complete together is truly special and if you wish to vote for Hetty to win this special award please do so below (Votes close on the 30th September 2021).
VOTE HERE