Shay Coyne, Dublin: I have been a member of SARDA Ireland for 2 years. I work as a firefighter in the Dublin Fire Brigade, within this role, I am also a qualified Emergency Medical Technician and Swift Water Rescue Technician. I feel these are great skills to bring to SARDA.

After learning the skills and importance of being a body with SARDA, I introduced my first dog Max, a Border Collie Lab cross who showed great potential but circumstances prevented his advancement.

I decided to get another dog, Champ, whom I got from the ISPCA. He is a Border Collie/Human (well he thinks he is) cross. He’s doing well in training and is just coming out of the puppy stage so a big improvement is expected this year.

Shay's wife gave birth recently so look forward to updates soon!