They are often regarded as a man and woman’s best friend – and that applies even before winter has descended on Scotland’s mountains.
This week, amid the dramatic scenery on the Isle of Skye, more than 20 specially-trained dogs and their handlers will be put through their paces as part of their annual assessment course.
In recent weeks, the Search and Rescue Dog Association has been required to deal with a string of emergency situations, many caused by the blizzards and gale-force winds of the Beast from the East.
While they rose to the occasion, Skye will nonetheless be the setting for a range of difficult tests designed to hone the skills and measure the endurance of the dogs and handlers who are undertaking assessment.
The secretary of the charity SARDA Scotland, Ken Weatherstone said: “All our handlers are volunteers who are willing to assist mountain rescue teams throughout Scotland, and they are on call 24 hours a day.
“They all do a great job, but our real heroes are our dogs. We are looking forward to a successful assessment and training weekend from March 23 to 25”.
Mr Weatherstone confirmed that 2018 has already been a very busy year with SARDA’s animals attending 17 call-outs with 56 handler days.
In recent months, the dogs have been involved in many different incidents, including the search for missing climbers on Ben Nevis, Cairngorm and Lochcarron.
They were also participants in the hunt for missing brothers Alan and Neil Gibson, on Beinn Liath Mhor near Achnashellach, last month.
Alan Gibson’s body was discovered on February 10, but, despite an intensive search of the area, his brother’s remains have not been found.
The volunteers have had to become accustomed to dealing with severe weather and the high risk of avalanche on such missions, but Mr Weatherstone said he was proud of the manner in which they had dealt with these assignments.
The organisation was formed in 1965 by world-renowned climber Hamish MacInnes and its efforts have saved countless lives in the last 53 years.
SARDA uses mountain rescue team volunteers and their dogs to help locate missing persons.