Over the moon for hero cop dog Luna
It’s time to meet our next winner of the Mirror People’s Pet Awards with Webbox. Our team went through thousands of nominations to produce a shortlist for the judging panel, who chose which incredible animals and animal lovers should receive a trophy.
We’ll be revealing them every week on this page. Today it’s our amazing Dog of the Year, lifesaver Luna.
Gentle German Shepherd Luna loves nothing more than swimming in the sea and walking with her owner along the spectacular Scottish coastline.
But there’s more than meets the eye to this 11-year-old dog.because before her retirement in 2022, heroic Luna had spent eight years in service with Police Scotland, tracking and saving 38 people through the course of her career.
“Luna was paired with me at just 12 weeks old,” says Linda Mcbride, who retired from her role as a police dog handler with the force just a few months after Luna in 2022.
“She started her training in 2012, and by September 2014, she had her licence.
“Luna had a natural ability,” adds Linda, 56. “As a puppy she put a lot of work in, but from the get-go she was exceptional at tracking. I’d already worked with two dogs before her, but I knew straight away Luna was special.”
Among her many impressiwve achievements, Luna helped save the lives of vulnerable missing people, tracked down elderly individuals, helped victims of crimes and assisted members of the public who had suffered serious injuries.
In December 2019, she located a vulnerable man who had gone missing from his home. She found him tucked away in bushes, suffering from hypothermia. Thanks to the intrepid dog’s expertise, emergency services were able to get the man to hospital for treatment, and he later contacted the police to thank Linda and Luna for saving his life.
“She’s done so many fantastic things,” says Linda, from central Scotland. “But in that case in particular, it was widely believed if she hadn’t found him, it was unlikely he’d have survived.
“Her temperament was perfect for the job. She was gentle and compassionate with vulnerable people and those at risk, but she was able to deal equally well with criminals, or anyone who showed potential aggression towards either of us.”
Luna, who is registered with the Thin Blue Paw Foundation, a charity supporting serving and retired police dogs, lives not just with Linda, but two other former police dogs – fellow German Shepherd PD Saul and Cocker Spaniel PD Spud – as well as well Saul’s little sister, Nala.
“It’s safe to say we’re a dog friendly home,” says grandmother-of-two Linda. “Luna and I spend a lot of our time together, walking in the Moray Firth area or spending hours at a time wandering along the coast. She’s in her element when she’s out in the open air. If she wants a cuddle, it’s on her terms, and that’s getting a bit more frequent now she’s older.
“I feel she’s done such a lot to help people over the years, and she’s protected me so much, I want to give her as much TLC back as I can.
“I’m conscious that she’s over 11 now, and you never how much time you’re going to have with your animals, so after all Luna has done she deserves very special treatment in return.
“That’s why I’m so thrilled she’s won the Dog of the Year category at the People’s Pet Awards. She truly deserves it.”