MAY 2002 For the April meeting, Mr. Dave Parfitt and Mr. Mike Gibbings gave us an extremely interesting and informative talk on Search & Rescue Dogs. Border Collies are used, taken from working stock on farms and training takes three years. The dogs are kept in the homes of the volunteers and are trained by them. Mr. Gibbings has the best qualified dog in Wales. There are 70 Search and Rescue Dogs in the whole of the U.K. In Wales there are 4 qualified dogs and 15 in training. Search and Rescue Dogs are increasingly called out by the police and emergency services. Mr. Gibbings and Mr. Parfitt are both Countryside Wardens and can take their dogs to work which helps with their training. The dogs wear distinctive jackets so that they can be easily identified. Mr. Gibbings and Mr. Parfitt brought their dogs to the meeting and they proved to be very partial to chocolate biscuits! Our next meeting is on Tuesday, the 14th of May, 2002. It will be the Annual General Meeting. All are welcome. We meet at Llanvaches Church Hall at 7.30p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month.