AN emotional tribute to a search and rescue dog with ties to Lockerbie was made on the BBC’s Repair Shop show last week.
Neil Powell appeared on the BBC series with a dog jacket and collar worn by his four-legged companion, Pepper. With the pup’s coat looking worn out, Neil hoped the Repair Shop’s experts could restore the items so they could go on display at his local mountain rescue near the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland.
The border collie qualified as a search and rescue dog at just 18 months old, and was part of the search and recovery efforts at Sherwood Crescent following the Lockerbie disaster in 1988.
Opening up on the programme about Pepper’s experience, Neil said: “The search and rescue dogs were all brought in to search for people. Working in the crater was muddy and horrible and the smell of the aviation fuel was dreadful and we did that for four days.
“Pepper had found a suitcase which had turned out to be very significant, there were scorch marks on that which suggested it had been a bomb.
“As a result of that little Pepper, along with five or six other dogs who were in that crater searching for human remains, they all developed tumours in their nose and in their windpipes. We’re not sure if it was the aviation fuel or what was it, but they died, it was heartbreaking.”
Later on in the show, viewers saw expert Suzie bring the leather collar back to life, while Rebecca washed away years of dirt from Pepper’s jacket.
Reacting to his beloved dog’s restored jacket and collar, Neil said: “I could see him, the little character came back to life again. And it’s all the memories tied with the work that he did, especially in Lockerbie.
“It keeps his memory alive, and it’s a very special, symbolic way of doing that.”
