Wonder dog gets hero's welcome

Man and dog: Jim Powell with Charco

A dog hero is home in the County Down hills at last.

Charco, a sniffer dog, has just returned to his home at the foot of the Mournes after six long months in quarantine.

He spent half a year in kennels, warding off any risk of rabies.

Charco saved a man's life in Pakistan by sniffing him out amid the rubble of the Kashmir earthquake in 2005.

On Monday, he was happy to be reunited with his owner, Jim Powell, and to meet up with his old friends and housemates - six other dogs whom, said his owner, he has truly missed.

"Since he has been home, he hasn't let the others out of his sight and his tail has never stopped wagging," Mr Powell said.

Charco's international career is now at an end, Mr Powell said he would be staying on home territory from now on.

"He won't be going abroad again. He has had two sessions of quarantine which is a full year and it is not fair to the wee dog," he said.

While Mr Powell prepares to train Sam, another black labrador, for international rescue, Charco is enjoying the freedom of the Mourne mountains, close to his Newcastle home.