Unsurprisingly, as a rural country the Falkland Islands has lots of working dogs – Collies (England) are commonly used for farm work, as are Kelpies (Australia) and Huntaways (New Zealand). Then there are the military dogs doing security checks at the airport and round the military base. So far, so normal.

Living here I have met a category of working dog new to me; bio-security dogs, who along with their handlers work on conservation and environment tasks. A key job is to check vessels that are travelling to South Georgia, to ensure that no fishing vessel, research ship, yacht or cruise ship is inadvertently taking any rats that could get ashore on arrival. South Georgia was painstakingly cleared of rats through a multi-year campaign and declared rat free in 2018 and keeping it that way is taken very seriously. Specialist, carefully trained dogs are used to do the vessel checks and you can follow Sammy’s and King’s exploits on South Atlantic Detection Dogs’s Instagram

As well as the full-time working dogs, there are pet dogs that have been talent spotted and trained to help out. Some of these dogs I know well as they belong to friends and it’s clear that they really enjoy the opportunity to work.

Missy is a very pretty collie, who melts the hearts of all who meet her. Like most collies she is happiest when she’s out and about, whether that’s walking or working. She has been trained to help with counting birds who nest in burrows, such as prions. She works by scent and will point at burrows that have an occupant, significantly speeding up the counting process.

Poppy is a labrador and her talent is her greed! Her ability to find food with her extremely sensitive nose is now put to good use, checking incoming luggage at the airport for undeclared food. There are strict rules about which foods can be brought into the Falkland Islands, to ensure that no invasive creatures or diseases get in. Sadly not every visitor is that aware of the rules and Poppy’s proud boast is that she has found food in luggage every time she’s been on duty!

It’s fair to say that working dogs and part-time working dogs are an essential part of Falkland Islands life and it’s been fun getting to know what they do and see how much they enjoy their jobs. Their role is so important that in 2024 they were recognised with their own set of stamps!