The Search: The life of a mountain rescue search dog team

by Paul Besley

Shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature 2025.

Coming from a working-class background, Paul Besley knew the worst and best of life in a Yorkshire steel town. He had always been drawn to the solitude of the hills, but that life nearly ended when a fall while hillwalking left him critically injured and alone in the mountains of the Lake District. Paul was found and brought to safety by a mountain rescue team. This was the trigger for him to transform his life, first by joining his local team, then by finding Scout, his very own Border collie puppy, and training him to become a mountain rescue search dog.
In The Search, Paul writes with humour and honesty as we follow him and Scout through their complex training, with searches and rescue incidents sometimes tragic and often funny. Paul's demons and headstrong characters threaten to derail them, until his past finally catches up with him and his life inescapably unravels. It's up to Scout to keep an eye on him now as Paul tries to build the best life he can.

Genres: Nonfiction

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2024

Reviews

[Amy Cartwright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting read. A very honest account of all the hard work that goes in to being a dog handler in a mountain rescue team.

[Emily Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having met Paul and Scout on the first national dog course I attended I was as excited to read this book - to both learn about their journey through the training system but also to glean any pearls of wisdom from his career as a dog handler.
Having trained with them only once, on a windy and hail driven Sir William Hill near Eyam, I recognised Paul to be a handler who knows his stuff but wasn’t about to throw yet more ideas into the mix at a bewildered first time handler. And from reading his account of training I realised why.

I love this book. And not just because I read it voraciously, recognising the characters within it and the experiences - the inconsistent nature of advice, the experience of surviving puppy class, but also the fabulous trainers who really know their stuff and not just imparting random ideas.

I also love it for the honesty, the beautiful language as he paints the landscapes I know and love so well, as well as learning about his experience of why he joined Mountain Rescue. It felt like home reading about training in the Chew Valley.

I absolutely loved reading the Search and recommend this book to everyone, whether you love dogs, interested in mountain rescue or even just the outdoors. The relationship between handler and dog is a wonderful story and one which anyone can appreciate.

[Lina Arthur · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving and thought-provoking read

This is a book about second chances and about trust. Subtitled "The life of a mountain rescue search dog team", this gives an insight into the relationship which is at the heart of this book. Paul writes movingly about the process he undertook with Scout. This is a detailed account of the frustrations and successes of an incredibly exacting training process which is not widely known, and of how much it asks of both handler and dog. But it is also the story of how Paul himself learns to trust both in himself and in others in his life and learns to seek out the right paths to move forward.
There are wonderful moments of comedy amid the difficulties, and running through it all, a deep love of the fells and the roughest terrain in the country, and a clear-eyed take on mountain rescue in this country.

[Barbara Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of a man’s journey and redemption through the training and trust of his search and rescue dog. It is not a manual of how to do this, it is a description of what makes the journey worthwhile, ranging from ecstatic heights when he and his dog, Scout, achieve the perfect working relationship to dark lows of perceived failures. In Alison, his partner, mentor and safe haven, he finds the support, acceptance and patience to persist in his quest to ‘choose not to give in, to choose to live life fully.’
The battle ground is that of Everyman, fought on many levels, life, death, place and circumstance, in forging relationships, love and trust and recognising achievement in the face of the frailty and flaws within the individual. The motivation is the one that binds all members of all Rescue Teams together; ‘the desire to help someone in distress.’
Relationships are inevitably twined within landscape, and this is the other great joy of the book. Descriptions of the wild places are as intense as the feelings they trigger. An added fascination in his account is his growing ability to understand the world as Scout does, in particular the mechanics of how scent rises from a ‘Body’, travels along the winds and dumps itself in the difficult terrains. Thus, the handler can show their dog the best lines to take in covering the ground. In this mutual trust Scout also learns to take responsibility, waiting and watching out for Paul as his health becomes problematic.
It is perhaps not an easy read, the prose tough, dark and gritty at times, but persist and the challenge of taking responsibility for how best to accept yourself and live your life to the best of your ability will resonate and challenge your own efforts.

[Anne Macnamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most beautiful cover with Scout and contour lines is the first treat. Inside is a truly emotional journey with Paul and Scout as they train to join mountain rescue.
Paul writes with such raw emotion and vulnerability, sharing his fears and triumphs and the development of his relationship with Scout from their first meeting to serious training. Descriptions of landscapes and weather and feelings that will stay with me for a long time, Paul is a truly gifted writer and I was sad to finish.

[Yodad10 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best and most honest book I have read in years.

[Jim Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has true life drama, great humour, mountains, and best of all a hero dog.
This insight into the world of mountain rescue and the role of search dogs in particular is engaging. Paul Besley’s journey is well written even lyrical, a most compelling read.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really interesting storey, open and honest about the struggles personally and in training.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Paul’s excellent ‘Day Walks in the South Pennines’ a few years ago, and subsequently enjoyed revisiting some familiar walks as well as discovering new ones in this often-overlooked part of the country, I was delighted to be given the opportunity to read his memoir and to discover what life experiences led to his obvious passion for the healing nature of the countryside. I really admired the way in which he wrote with such honesty about the various hardships and hurdles he has had to overcome, and the personal ‘demons’ he has battled with, in order to transform what had, at times, been a rather chaotic lifestyle. As a keen fell walker I have always been full of admiration for the country-wide network of Mountain Rescue Teams, those remarkable volunteers who are prepared to be on call 24 hours a day to go to the aid of anyone lost or missing in the hills, so I appreciated Paul’s fascinating insights into the organisation, and the complex nature of many of their call-outs.
Central to his story is, of course, his decision to buy his Border Collie puppy Scout and embark on the journey to train to become a member of a search and rescue dog team. Before reading his account I had no idea of just how long, rigorous and challenging this process is but Paul took me on a journey which allowed me to follow him and Scout as they faced these challenges together, to share in their despondency when things weren’t going well … and then their joy when they did! It would be hard to overstate just how moving I found it to read about the developing bond between them and the level of trust which was gradually established in order for them to operate as a team. I loved how Paul learnt to ‘listen’ to Scout when they were tracking, even when his behaviour appeared to make no sense, but I also loved how Paul was able to learn to trust in his own feelings, and make changes, when he recognised that some of the training advice he was being given wasn’t working for them. I also enjoyed how Paul’s often quite lyrical prose evoked such evocative images of the various terrains they were training in, capturing both the beauty and the wildness of nature, as well as the capricious nature of rapidly-changing weather conditions.
I found this is thought-provoking, unforgettable and deeply-moving story of resilience and determination, of holding onto hope, believing in second chances and being determined, whatever life’s challenges, to find a profound satisfaction in making the most of the life we are living. I love that Paul’s search led him to Scout and to developing this trusting and very special bond with a remarkable (and adorable!) dog and, last but by no means least, that his relationship with his partner Alison, whatever the ups and downs they faced along the way, remains so supportive and rock-solid.
(I read the paperback version - ISBN:978-1-83981-241-5)

[Debbie Maughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating account of the training of a mountain rescue search dog and its owner . The book starts with Paul’s description of his own horrific injuries after a fall in the Lake District, the Mountain Rescue Search Team came to his aid.
Paul describes some of the intense training sessions he and his dog, Scout, attend, often in very difficult conditions, rewarding Scout frequently with some favourite snacks.
The Mountain Rescue Search Team is completely made up of volunteers, and all the volunteers train to a professional level. They train, attend fitness challenges and assessments and are on duty all in their own time. The dogs and their handlers attend many training camps and assessments until they have reached the very high standard where they are considered competent to assist as part of the team.
The Search is an inspiring account this training process for Scout and Paul, and the deep bond they have between them

[ANDREW JULIETTE · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very perhaps overly detailed account of how mountain rescue dogs and their handlers are selected and trained. The author is also brutally honest about his background and future and sets out many accounts of heroic rescues helping people that get into difficulties in the Peak District. As with many books that diarise the pandemic years the accounts are still freshly depressing but all add to the historical record of those miserable times.