Cork man and his dog Cooper bound for Ukraine to help with search and rescue

Padraig O'Keeffe has years of experience working with dogs since he saw the work of urban search and rescue dogs in Haiti

Padraig O'Keeffe and Cooper the dog who will be helping with the search and rescue efforts in Ukraine.

A Cork man and his dog are travelling to Ukraine where they hope to assist with search and rescue operations in the war-torn country.

Padraig O'Keeffe has been training Cooper, a Labrador Retriever, to work in urban search and rescue, as well as cadaver recovery, and they are set to begin their trip to Kyiv on Saturday. The Cobh man has years of experience working with dogs, having spent 10 years with his previous working dog, Mambo.