Newest police recruit enjoys first sniff of life in the force

DYFEDPOWYS Police’s newest recruit is being put through his paces to find out if he will become a fully-fledged police dog.

At just four months old, Billy is the youngest member of the force’s Dog Section.

At the end of the summer he will face an assessment, and if he passes can then complete training to become a police dog (PD).

His handler, PC John Llewellyn, will spend this time getting Billy used to being around other dogs and police officers on duty: “Billy has been living at home with my family and two other police dogs – PD Dash, who is also a spaniel, and PD Cassie, a general purpose dog – for a few months.

“Until his assessment, I’ll take him out on operations and in to police stations.

“He’s always a welcome visitor and gets a lot of attention!

“It helps him too because it makes him more comfortable around people, which is important. Spaniels are the perfect breed for sniffing out drugs, cash, firearms or anything they are trained to, because their noses are so powerful. Billy will be assessed when he’s nearly one to see if he can be trained.

“If he can’t, sadly I’ll have to rehome him. But I’m not thinking about that for now.” If Billy passes all of his training, he will replace PD Dash, who has worked with John for 10 years.

■ Follow Billy’s progress and learn more about the work of Dyfed-Powys Police’s Dog Section by following @DPPoliceDogs on Twitter.