Neil Powell is originally from Cork but now lives near Newcastle, County Down, in the foothills of the Mourne Mountains, with his wife and eight dogs. In the early 1970s he trained Ireland's first mountain rescue dog, and since then has gone on to train drowned victim recovery dogs, collapsed structure search dogs and is a founder member of British International Rescue Dogs team. Neil's dogs have been the recipients of awards for animal gallantry and devotion to duty.

To find out more about Neil, visit www.neilapowell.com.