Handler signs up world-renowned sculptor for her campaign to build a statue for police dogs
and yet there is no tribute anywhere in the country where handlers and the public can go to remember them.
“This just isn’t right, so I decided to do something about it and two weeks ago started my own campaign to raise money for a statue in their honour – not just for the dogs now gone, but for today’s serving police dogs and those of tomorrow.
“Police dogs fulfil so many roles in the lives of their handlers – partner, best friend and family member.
“The trust between us is phenomenal. Their lives are in our hands and ours are in their paws. You won’t find a more special relationship.”
The first police dog was used in 1859 by officers in Luton, who employed a bloodhound to help track down a murderer. But police dogs didn’t appear on the streets of Britain until well after World War II.
Carrie-Ann, who has already raised more than £2300, added: “A few years ago, retired handler Paul Nicholls ran a similar campaign down south and there is now a memorial in Essex.
“Although this is lovely, it’s a long way for Scottish handlers to go to pay tribute to dogs they have lost, so having a statue here will make all the difference not only for police officers but as a way of drawing attention to the work these dogs do.
“There are about 160 dogs serving in Scotland at this moment. Each handler tends to have two dogs – a general purpose dog that helps with tracking people and hunt ing criminals and a specialist sniffer dog.”
Carrie-Ann, who has been a dog handler for six years, has been in talks for months with sculptor John. He is known for his statues of Nelson Mandela and his tribute to The Beatles in Liverpool, and his most recent work was the police dog memorial in Essex.
She said: “John has been fantastic. I’ve been chatting to him for months about my idea and he cameme up last week to meet the police dog I want the statue to be modelled on.
“The statue will depict PD Ziggy, who is a Belgian Malinois. He and his partner, PC Alex Bell, who is a dog handling instructor, are retiring later this year.
“Ziggy epitomises what a police dog should be – phy s i c a l l y imp o s i n g , confident, courageous and with a passion to work.
“You won’t find any police dog that does not love what it does. They wouldn’t do it otherwise.”
Carrie-Ann, who wanted to be a dog handler since she was a little girl, said: “I’m hoping the council will give us permission to put the memorial in Pollok Park.
“The statue will be of Ziggy lying down looking alert. The monument will be just short of 2m high, so when
you walk up to it you will be looking into the dog’s face. There will also be a commemorative plaque.” Carrie-Ann and Bodie received a Chief Constable’s Commendation last year after saving the life of a vulnerable man in Ayrshire.
She said: “The call came in that someone was concerned for their friend, who they believed to be suicidal. Bodie and I went out searching and after an hour he ran into the woods and indicated to me by barking that the man was in the woods.
“He was in a bad way but he was still alive, so I gave him first aid unti l the ambulance a r r ived . I suppose we did save his life, but Bodie and I were just doing our jobs.
“People think police dogs and their handlers just respond to crime callscal but a massive part of our job is finding the missing. The amount a of people we find and a bring back to their families f is fantastic.” Carrie- Ann, who also savedsa the life of a teenage girl gi with her former dog CargoCa in 2017, added: “There is notn a single dog on the force that tha has not carried out countless cou acts of bravery, saved lives live or sniffed out deadly drugs, dru firearms or explosives. “WWe owe so much to these fearless fearl four-legged heroes and I’m kkeeping everything crossed we canca raise the money needed for ththe statue and have a lasting tribute tribut to them here in Scotland.” Go tto www.gofundme.com/f/ scottish-police-dogs scottis to donate.
PD REMO
You won’t find any police dog that does not love what it does