John Bell and his dog Darcy search for survivors in Chautara, which is northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck on April 25, 2015. The UK Department for International Development uploaded the photo four days later. But EXIF data is incomplete; camera and time taken aren’t available.
Darcy is specially trained to hunt for the living, even if they are unconscious. Many rescue dogs are themselves rescues—whisked from shelters where they might otherwise have been killed. But John picked his companion from a litter of puppies, making her a saved-from-death exception.
“Darcy lives at home with us in our family home”, John says. “You get a very special bond with your dog, you spend so much time with them. You need that bond because you need the trust—the dogs need to believe in you because they go into dangerous places”.
Photo Credit: Jessica Lea/DFID