KIRKWOOD, Calif. – At 12.5 years old, and now with only one eye, Momo shows no desire to slow down. Day in and day out, the Australian Cattle Dog has given her handler determined focus and dedication for over 11 years as Kirkwood Ski Resort’s longest-tenured avalanche dog.

“This breed, it gives you all of its heart,” handler, Heather Dent, says, who has been a part of Momo’s life since day one.

Momo descended from an Australian Cattle Dog Dent brought to the U.S. after a 20-year stint in New Zealand where she led a career as a ski guide and ski patroller.

With avalanche search and rescue instincts in Momo’s blood, Dent started training her at Kirkwood when she was the size of a beer bottle.

It was the start of a beautiful partnership.

“She’s my wing woman,” Dent says. “I don’t own this dog. This dog does not own me. We work together.”

The lifetime of comradery has nurtured intuition between the two—an unspoken bond, often communicating to each other without words or verbal cues.

Ever attentive to her handler, Momo often positions herself at a vantage point where she can watch Dent from all angles.

“She doesn’t take her eyes off me, that’s for sure,” Dent says. “She knows my every movement.”

Though a bit harder now after one eye was removed due to melanoma, Momo still shows up with the same loyalty and focus, often showing little to no interest in admirers.

“Most people ask me, ‘can I pet your dog?’ And I’m like, ‘you can try,'” Dent said, laughing. “With this Australian Cattle Dog breed, you could almost look at them like they were forged in the outback of Australia. They’re a bit salty.”

Momo is all business and in her robust career, she has cleared six avalanche sites, which involves combing each site to make sure no one was caught in the slide.

“Kirkwood’s a pretty substantial mountain and we have an incredible snow safety program here,” Dent says, “but as we all know, mother nature is the boss and if anything should happen and we do have a burial of a human, there is nothing faster than a dog’s nose.”

Momo has even sniffed out human spit under three feet of snow after alerting Dent that she had found something.

“I just went, ‘oh my goodness,” Dent recalled, “we have no idea what dogs are capable of.'”

Momo is paying it forward by passing on her knowledge to the next generation of Kirkwood avalanche dogs, including two puppies, Olive, a six-month-old black lab, and Ruby, an nine-month-old black mouth cur. She also works alongside her grandson on the mountain. It’s common practice to rely on older dogs to show puppies the ropes.

“I’m impressed with the way she has handled the puppies,” Dent says. “There is a fine line, you know, you can be a goofball and when it’s time not to be a goofball, Mo will regulate and tell.”

As Kirkwood’s canine team lead, Dent is involved in training the teams. She often tells the handlers that every dog is different and it’s up to the handler to figure out how to dance with their dog.

She describes her dance with Momo as meticulous. Momo is thorough and focused in her work, yet never forgets to routinely check back in.

Dent expects Momo to one day indicate when she’s ready to stop working, but for now, Momo doesn’t appear to be hanging up her dancing shoes anytime soon.