What's better than a pup? A pup with a job, of course. Seeing a working dog is a wonderful reminder of all the different ways canines are truly human's best friends.
A police dog in the UK proved to be the best good boy ever. His first day on the job proved to be an eventful one. The 2-year-old German shepherd named Max and his handler, Police Constable Peter Lloyd, were dispatched to the search for a missing woman. Locating her car was easy enough for officers, but for the next part, they needed Max's expertise.
Max was able to bring a happy ending to the day. Thanks to his training, he located the woman and her 1-year-old child. The mother and child were a significant distance from the scene, on the edge of a ravine. They had been stuck in their location for over two days. Thankfully, they were both OK.
Police dogs are hard workers. It takes a lot of training to prepare a dog for the important tasks police dogs take on. In the United Kingdom, one police dog showed that his training was well worth the time.
Dyfed-Powys Police dog Max is a 2-year-old German shepherd. Max is new to being a police pup. Last week, he faced his first shift with his handler, Police Constable Peter Lloyd. PC Lloyd joined the unit in February.
Max and PC Lloyd were dispatched to the investigation of a missing woman.
"The woman had not been seen or spoken to for two days, which was out of character, and her phone wasn't working, so naturally concern for her safety was high," explained Inspector Jonathan Rees-Jones in a statement.
Police officers were able to locate the woman's car.
The car was on a mountain road. The police needed Max's ability to follow a trail of scent to determine where the woman may have gone next.
"This is where PD Max's tracking skills really came into play. Despite only recently becoming licensed, and on his first operational shift, he immediately commenced an open area search," the inspector explained.
The expectations were iffy considering the amount of time the woman had been missing. Max was on the case, though, and he made all the difference. The search would take an hour and a half and would see Max and PC Lloyd work with the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team, a National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter, and a search expert.
PC Peter Lloyd spotted the woman waving for help at 1:30 that afternoon.
"Thankfully, after an hour-and-a-half of searching, the mum and baby were found. They were safe, but cold, and appeared to have been in the area for a significant amount of time," the statement noted.
"This was a fantastic coordinated and determined team effort from everyone involved, which no doubt ensured the safety of the mum and baby who were at significant risk of harm."
The mother and child were checked by a Mountain Rescue doctor and the ambulance service. They will both be OK.
The police dog and his handler received a special shout-out from their colleagues.
"I must give a special mention to PC Peter Lloyd and Max, who on their very first day since completing their training together covered a significant amount of mileage in the search, eventually locating them safe," the inspector said. Not only was their work impressive, but it made all the difference in this story's trajectory.
PC Lloyd was really happy with how things played out. Of course, he was proud of his partner.
"I was really pleased that during our first operational deployment as a dog team, myself and Max were able to safely locate the missing mother and baby," he said.
"Max remained focussed throughout the long search and he proved invaluable when he reacted to the call for help which resulted in us locating them," he added.
Max is a general-purpose police dog. He will primarily be used for tracking and locating people in buildings and open air, tracing discarded property, and tracking and detaining suspects.
