FILE PHOTO - As young Ruby gets used to what is expected of her Mike Ritcey gives her lots of praise and playtime when she finds something.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
July 30, 2019 - 11:30 AM
KAMLOOPS — A documentary that will follow the story of three local search and rescue dogs and their handlers has been given $50,000 in funding from Telus Storyhive.
The documentary Sit. Stay. Search featuring search dogs of Kamloops will tell the story of the dogs at different stages at the search dog validation process, according to a Kamloops Search and Rescue news release. Creative B.C. has also provided an additional $5,000 in grant funding for all the B.C. projects, making it a total of $55,000.
The dogs to be featured include a new puppy trying to pass the assessment, a young dog that has passed the puppy assessment and a validated dog trying to stay validated.
“We’ll explore what goes into the training and why these volunteer handlers put so much time, money and effort into the process,” Kamloops Search and Rescue volunteer Jennifer Stahn says in the release.
There are roughly 15 validated search dogs across the province and currently, Kamloops Search and Rescue has two validated search dogs on the team.
The documentary will be produced by Stahn, Anthony Stahn and Vesta Giles.
The Telus Storyhive program requires filmmakers who receive grants to film at least 75 per cent of the project locally.
“As well as at least 75 per cent of the budget spent locally meaning the Kamloops film community and Kamloops region will be heavily featured in the documentary,” Stahn says.
This documentary was one of two local projects to be chosen for funding. In total, 30 projects from across B.C. and Alberta were chosen through a combination of online voting and by jury.
The deadline for the final cut of documentaries will be on June 1, 2020, with the public release of films to follow shortly afterwards.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2019