Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Thank you for your service’: Heroic Aberdeenshire search and rescue hound Diesel dies aged 13

rescue dog Diesel
Diesel, the fire service's search and rescue dog, died aged 13. Image: Andrew Cawley/DC Thomson.

A heroic Aberdeenshire search and rescue dog who helped save thousands of lives across the world with his “quick moves and refined senses” has died.

Diesel the springer spaniel has been praised by fire chiefs as an “amazing contribution” to emergency teams working round the clock to help communities across Scotland.

The Portlethen-based dog first joined the United Kingdom International Search and Rescue (ISAR) team in 2012 and then the fire service in 2015.

He retired in 2020 and was succeeded by six-year-old English springer spaniel Mac, who has now been a search dog with the national service for more than two years.

Throughout his career, Diesel has been called into action more than 300 times and played a vital role in finding trapped or injured casualties in devastating earthquakes.

Members of the fire service announced Diesel’s death on social media yesterday paying tribute to the heroic animal.

The post read: “Unfortunately, we have to announce that Diesel’s collar was removed for the last time today. He is at peace now but his memory will live on from what he has done for SFRS and the UK ISAR.

“Diesel served with us all over the world. An amazing contribution to search and rescue from a brilliant dog. Thank you for your service pal.

“Sleep well Diesel.”

‘Thank you for your service, Diesel’

Diesel spent his life working alongside fire crew commander Gary Carroll, who took him in the day he was born and watched him grow into an “incredible” search dog.

The pair were deployed to Nepal in 2015 as part of the UK’s search team after an earthquake hit the region and thousands died.

In 2019, Diesel got his paws on the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s Animal of the Year award for his dedicated service to communities.

He was known for the signature “doggles” he wore when travelling by helicopter, and the protective boots he used to swiftly move around collapsed buildings without hurting his paws.

Fire and coastguard teams, as well as members of the public, have now thanked Diese for his dedicated service and expressed their sincere condolences to his handler.

Davie Hendry wrote on social media: “Diesel was a truly fantastic servant and made a huge difference at so many job. R.I.P. pooch.”

SFRS_Learning&Development tweeted: “So sorry to hear – thinking of you, Mac and Coorie. Sleep well Diesel. It was my absolute pleasure to have met you. Thank you for your service.”

Scottish Police Dog Memorial posted: “Was a pleasure to know you Diesel. Thinking of Gary and his family. Thank you for your service. Run free boy.”

Juju wrote: “Diesel, thank you for your heroic four pawed service to us humans, may our prayers.”

Conversation