Moki is by far without a doubt, a 10 out of 10 on the cuteness, adorableness, and preciousness scales. (Those are all scientific measurements)
To add to the credibility of the above statements is a quote from my mother when shown a picture of Moki. She is also qualified to quantify the above statements.
Oh my…I want him!
That is total preciousness.
Moki is the newest avalanche rescue dog at Snowbird, and a darn good looking one at that! Moki is a Native American term for deer, presumably since he will be bounding through Utah’s Sparkling Wine Powder each year! He still has a long way to go before he will be qualified to search for victims as he is only 7 weeks old.
This winter Moki will be come a “Level C – Basic Search” Candidate Dog. To earn this a dog must be energetic, eager to dig in snow, bark at its buried handler and show basic obedience skills. At around 12 months Moki will be eligible to begin earning his “Level B – Intermediate Search” certification. This will qualify him as a Ski Resort Rescue Dog and will allow him to work as a rescue dog inside of Snowbird Ski Resort. To achieve this level a dog must be able to find a “Victim” buried 3-6 feet in a 100-yard by 100-yard area in under 20 minutes.
After earning a Level B certification a dog will typically spend about 2 years working within the resort before earning a “Level A – Advanced” certification. Once achieved, Moki will be a Rescue dog that is eligible to respond to any avalanche event throughout Utah. Using a similar sized area as before the dog must now find TWO victims within a 20 minute period amongst other requirements to achieve this level.
A typical avalanche dog certified through Wasatch Backcountry Rescue will work for 10 years before retiring.
Best of Luck to Moki and his handler. We hope that we will never need you, but we all love having you!
