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On the slopes near Cortina d’Ampezzo, Zen, a five-year-old border collie, leads a pack of trainee rescue dogs, preparing for the rising avalanche threat in the Italian Alps.
Warming conditions in the Italian Alps are triggering more avalanches, increasing the need for mountain rescue dogs to help locate those trapped under snow.
Zen, a five-year-old border collie, leads a group of 20 trainee dogs in avalanche drills on the slopes near Cortina d’Ampezzo, a future 2026 Winter Olympics venue. These dogs undergo rigorous training to locate and dig out victims.
In 2023, Italy’s Alpine Rescue Corps responded to over 12,000 incidents, with dogs involved in 168 avalanche rescues.
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