A furry new recruit has been taken on by police to sniff out leads on the streets of the north-east.
Little Bodie is a mischievous bundle of fun at just nine weeks old. But the specially bred German Shepherd will soon be taking up an important role in the force by chasing down criminals and searching for missing people.
The boisterous pup is the cutest addition to the north-east’s dog unit, having been selected from the Metropolitan Police Service’s breeding programme.
He will start basic training in the next few weeks, but the canine cadet is already keen to learn. And, within a year, it is expected he will be well on his way to becoming a fully licenced operational police dog.
Bodie lives at home with his new handler and will be integrated into both the work and family environment.
He will do his job alongside two other serving police dogs; a seven-year-old German Shepherd and a four-year-old Springer Spaniel.
Last night, PC Steve Warden, regional police dog instructor for Aberdeen, said Bodie was chosen especially from his litter to join the team.
He added that the little pup was already toilet-trained and sitting on command and said they were now working on putting him in a series of different situations to ensure he grows up ready to handle anything the job throws at him.
PC Warden explained: “He was selected from a litter of nine speciallybred pups and was deemed top male dog after a series of basic puppy tests.
“We could tell right away from his mannerisms and inquisitive nature that he would make an excellent police dog.
“Already, we can see he is almost fearless. So far, his basic training has involved placing him in a number of different situations, from going into a dark room and a lift to walking over cobbles and being driven about in a police car with sirens.”
When Bodie – the name of one of the main characters in the TV series “The Professionals” – is fully licenced, he will be used as a general police dog whose duties will include hunting down suspects, sniffing out missing people and crowd control.
PC Warden stressed that, although he will live at home with his handler, there was a big difference between a working police dog and a pet.
He said: “Bodie will eventually live outside with two other dogs in a kennel. He won’t be curled up on the sofa.
“Once trained, he will always be on the look out and always be aware of his surroundings. Essentially he will be a police dog for life.”
