Doug The Dog

Sent Into Space have a very important member of the team & we wanted to find out more about him so we asked Chris Rose to enlighten us about Doug the dog.

• We have had Doug since he was 3 months old, he is now 11 months and has been joining us in the office everyday. 

Dougs discipline is tracking and recovery, so he has a very good nose which we have trained him to trust and utilise. Anyone in Aizlewoods Mill who has shared a lift with Doug will know that he is a far cry from having the restraint of a trained guide dog. With excitable yips and growls and occasional licks to peoples hands and knees, Doug is definitely a people person and this is something that seems a shame to try and drill out of him. If you ever see Doug please feel free to come and fuss him. 

• Our work is in Near Space photography and High Altitude Science which requires us to conduct many launches of large Meteorological Balloons, sending technology high above the Earth. When this technology returns to Earth by parachute we have tracking systems onboard which help us to relocate the payload. Despite the presence of these systems this recovery process can take time (especially if large corn fields are involved), and this is where Doug’s nose comes in. If introduced to a scent he will find the 'like scent', or more commonly he seeks out the latex from the balloons that are used. If you are bored on a coffee break put Doug to the test, hide something in the room and present a similar item to him and tell him to “find it”.

• Day to day Doug is in the office with us, catching up on sleep, trying to get involved with meetings and looking forward to his lunchtime walk in the park. On launch days however he may well be tasked with a recovery. 

• In terms of training methods he has always had an aptitude for seeking out scent. The main two challenges were to firstly get him to do it on command, and secondly to be conditioned to look for the scent being presented rather than his favourite toy or treat. Treats were used but he was always driven more by the excitement of the game more than anything. 

• Bringing back the wrong item is pretty rare as he knows its a tough sell to try and present something else, however its not uncommon for him to find the correct item out of eyeshot and feel smug with himself that he has successfully completed his task, all the while without informing anyone. 

• He does wear a blue service dog jacket that contains a formal ID badge with his name, role and contact information. Also theres a patch on the back that says ‘I’m friendly please pet me’. 

• In terms of breed he is half Labrador and half Retriever. This is a very common mix for working dogs as they are normally a patient and docile temperament.

• In terms of unusual relocations, his most challenging to date was when 6 fighter jets were practising their low level combat formations in the immediate vicinity of where we were searching. The noise was deafening and continued and had Doug shaking and hiding in the car boot. We got there eventually and he successfully located the payload. 

• A good point, we are currently overhauling our website but he may well feature in the ‘meet the team’ section.