Scottish Paramedic Partners With His Family Labrador to Search for Missing People

Steven Band brought home a nine-week-old black Labrador from near Callander, Scotland, expecting a family companion. He had no idea she would soon become his colleague.

Band serves as a paramedic with Scotland's Special Operations Response Team. By 2021, when Poppy turned one, her quick instincts and sensitivity convinced him she was ready for field work. Rather than relying on a lost person's clothing item for a scent trail, Poppy was trained to air-scent open terrain, tracking down volunteers hidden along riverbanks, dense woods, and canal paths.

Trading pet mode for working mode in the brush

She took to the assignments naturally, driven by an instinct to explore the undergrowth. Her missions have ranged from tracking through the Scottish Borders to aiding a search for a lost child in the woods near Inverness.

"When she has her search jacket on, she knows she is going to look for people and the difference is apparent," Band shared in The Guardian. "She changes from family pet mode to working dog mode."

Search gear off, lifejacket on

Back home, Poppy leaves the job at the door. Her favorite family afternoons take place out on the water, where she trades her search harness for a canine lifejacket and paddles alongside the family's paddleboards across the lochs.

Even as a sturdy Labrador Retriever, her gentlest gift remains her empathy. If anyone in the house is feeling low, Poppy quietly walks over and rests her chin on their knee, offering the kind of steady comfort that makes her both an exceptional rescue partner and the heart of the family.