JJ is a German Shepherd that assists the police in Birmingham in the United Kingdom.
Last December, a 15-year-old girl was robbed at knife-point. JJ tracked the robber down in the bushes nearby.
PC Wayne Mellings said:
“This was typical of JJ: he is fearless and has a real nose for sniffing out evidence and catching criminals.”
“JJ managed to follow the scent to a commercial estate then lead us to some bushes where the suspect was hiding in the undergrowth. He was still holding the young girl’s mobile phone.”
“JJ played a vital role in catching the offender and recovering the stolen phone; he fully deserves this recognition.”
JJ was awarded PDSA Commendation as part of the charity’s Animal Awards Programme. PDSA is the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals.
Rebecca Thorne, Senior Veterinarian at the charity’s Aston Pet Hospital, said:
“PDSA has a long tradition of honouring animals and JJ’s story really epitomises the value that animals bring to our lives.”
“The work of police dogs across the country is absolutely vital; their skills help to solve crimes and take dangerous criminals off the streets. JJ’s story serves as a reminder of just how lucky we are to have these dogs serving among us.”
Police dogs save lives in just many ways. We tend to think of them as being used to sniff out drugs or cadavers, but they do so much more than that.
Police have been using dogs in their work since 1907. Some K9s have been trained to look for computer parts. During the 9/11 attacks, there were 100 dogs used to help find people under the rubble.
For police patrol, they are trained in obedience, agility, tracking, evidence searches, open area, and building searches. They can be used to find children or elderly people who have wandered off. These smart pets make a great addition to the police force.
Here is a demonstration in police dog training:
Featured image by West Midlands Police via Flickr, available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.
