OUR HERO HOUNDS
‘Animal OBEs’ for fearless police dogs who leapt into action amid terror attacks
AMID the carnage and chaos of two terror attacks in the capital, their devotion to duty was of the highest pedigree.
Yesterday the heroics of six of the police dogs who padded into action on Westminster Bridge and at London Bridge in 2017 were honoured with ‘animal OBEs’.
They included Kai the springer spaniel, a Met explosive detection dog who got on the scent at both incidents. She was just 18 months old and had completed her training only four months earlier when she and handler PC Jean Pearce raced to Westminster Bridge on March 22 that year.
Miss Pearce said: ‘She was still a puppy really. It was a big responsibility but she did brilliantly.’
The pair searched the car which had been driven into crowds by Khalid Masood, killing four, and then scoured Parliament Square near the scene where he had fatally stabbed PC Keith Palmer.
Then on June 3, Miss Pearce was on the way home when she heard about the London Bridge attack. She headed to the scene where Kai worked throughout the night to search the area where three terrorists had killed eight people.
‘Kai is bubbly and always willing to work,’ said Miss Pearce, now retired after 30 years of service. ‘That’s what you need in a police dog – the drive to keep on going.
‘Kai was just looking for a tennis ball because that’s what they’re trained with. It’s a game for them.’
Kai, now three, works with a new handler but she and Miss Pearce were clearly delighted to be reunited at the presentation of the Order of Merit from veterinary charity the PDSA.
Delta, seven, a Met firearms support dog who is a German shepherd-Belgian shepherd cross, also
‘Just looking for a tennis ball’
searched the London Bridge and Borough Market area for hours.
Handler PC Mark Snoxell, 46, said: ‘You train but you can’t replicate the chaos. People were running around screaming but Delta did superbly. She wasn’t fazed.’
Marci, five, another German shepherd-Belgian shepherd cross, also searched Borough Market with handler PC Neil Billany, of the British Transport Police. Fellow BTP officer Craig Howarth, 38, and Jax, seven, a Belgian malinois, helped clear buildings and streets around London Bridge.
‘Sometimes he can find it hard when there’s large groups of people because he thinks it might be a confrontation but he coped extremely well,’ said PC Howarth. ‘Jax retires in September so this award is his crowning achievement.’
Bruno, an explosive search dog, was honoured for his work at Westminster Bridge with PC Rob Smith, 45, of the BTP. The yellow labrador is nine and due to retire soon.
Dave, a Met explosive detection dog, was at London Bridge with handler Andy Salter, 40. The black labrador, aged nine, has now retired and is the family pet.
The six dogs honoured yesterday were chosen to represent all 19 police dogs which served during the 2017 London attacks.
A seventh medal winner, Bobby, a BTP explosive search dog, and his handler PC Pete Beal, were unable to attend. The dogs can be worth up to £20,000 each including the cost of their specialist training.