THE decade-long dedication of a mountain rescue search dog is being remembered after her unexpected death.

Former Lake District Mountain Rescue Search Dog Bute has died after ten years of vital work with the team.

Bute was born in 2009 and passed her introductory mountain rescue search dog assessment in September 2009. She was successfully graded on the Langdale course in January 2011.

Christyne Judge, a search dog handler for the Lake District Mountain Rescue Association, raised Bute from ten weeks old, successfully training her to respond to search and rescue incidents.

Christyne, a member of Coniston MRT who lives in Hawkshead, had also trained mountain rescue search dog Skye who died in 2015.

Bute retired from rescue work in September but still appeared ‘fit as a fiddle’ at the age of 13.

On Saturday morning, Christyne went downstairs to find her beloved pooch had collapsed.

Despite an emergency trip to the vets, within three hours Bute had sadly died.

“The shock of it is still unbelievable because she was so fit and well before,” Christyne said.

“Although she was 14 next month, she was a really fit dog for that age.

“It was a blessing that she was still full of life and didn’t know anything otherwise. I was glad the decision of when to end her life was taken out of my hands.”

Bute assisted with mountain rescue operations across Cumbria for more than a decade.

The canine worked all over Lake District and beyond, responding to incidents in Yorkshire and Scotland.

Her last official search was in North Yorkshire looking for a man who had been missing for a week and was unfortunately found dead.

Christyne said: “She loved her work and really lived a full life.

“After retiring she still loved taking part in fundraising and rescue events. I can’t explain how much she will be missed.

“I don’t have children so my dogs are like my children – they really are my family.”