2014 will be the first year of the Golden Paws, an award ceremony honoring brave dogs who help save lives and bring comfort to people every day.

President of the Irish Kennel Club and the man behind the idea Sean Dermal, joined Breakfast in studio this morning, along with handler Suzanne Flynn and her search dog Kram. 

Sean feels dogs get a lot of negative publicity in the media and aren't honored for the great work they do. There will be several different categories from Dogs for the Blind and search dogs to pets. You can nominate dogs by emailing info@ikc.ie

Kram is an air scenting dog and as a rule does not track a person, he reacts to a human scent being blown towards him by the wind or air currents. This means that as long as Kram is searching downwind of a casualty, he should find them.

Racing back to Suzanne, Kram indicates that he has made a find by barking up at her and then takes Suzanne to the victim barking at the victim to guide Suzanne in. These dogs are especially effective in dense brush, high grass, in the woods Kram was nominated for a search that he was utilised on in March 2013. Search dog Kram and Suzanne were called to a search for a missing person in Cork. Kram was escorted to the missing persons vehicle by the Gardaí and tasked to search the locked vehicle and surrounding area. Kram indicated at the boot of the vehicle and the Gardaí gained entry to the vehicle and located the missing person

You can find out more about other search dogs like Kram on their facebook page.

You can hear the interview in full here: