Man's Best Friends - True Stories of the World's Most Heroic Dogs. John McShane
Lords in October that year. Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW, said: ‘We are delighted to be able to highlight the amazing service given by police dogs such as Obi. He is a truly rewarding winner of our special Animal Bravery Award.’
Off-duty, Obi lived with PC Wells and his family. ‘It was quite humbling to hear that Obi was to receive this award, in the same way that the public responded in the aftermath of the disorder and came out to thank us,’ he said. ‘It’s really nice to have the work recognised and while Obi received a lot of attention, we are just one of many dog teams who go out on the streets every day. Obi has been keen to get back to work – he didn’t like being left at home when I set off on my own as he loves it.’
Eight police dogs working in Obi’s unit also received injuries on the same night in Tottenham, including cut paw pads and broken teeth.
Shortly after the London riots, in nearby Essex tributes were paid to another German Shepherd, whose devotion to duty had been outstanding throughout his life. Brennan, who died in September that year, was the first Essex Police dog to be twice awarded for bravery. He was based in Chigwell for part of his life, with handler PC Mick Finch, who said one of his most memorable tasks while based there was to find a missing three-year-old girl in Matching Green, near North Weald.
‘The girl had been left unattended in a vehicle and wandered off on an industrial estate,’ he said. ‘It was bitterly cold and we were very concerned about her. Brennan searched along a fence line not too far from where she had wandered off and started to act oddly near the bushes next to some bins. He didn’t bark, but nuzzled the fence and appeared distressed. When a colleague the other side of the fence checked, he found the girl had curled up near the bins and gone to sleep.’
Brennan also managed to track down three men suspected of stealing from a lorry on the A12 during a storm when police helicopter operators failed to spot them. PC Finch told his local newspaper: ‘Despite the heavy rain, Brennan tracked them to a large tree in some woods and I found one of the suspects hiding up it.’ Brennan’s first bravery award had come in January 2008 – for pinning down two car thieves in Basildon, despite being repeatedly punched and kicked. Then, in April 2010, he was awarded for his bravery while overpowering a suspected motorbike thief in Grays, Essex, despite being badly hurt in the ordeal.
PC Finch said: ‘Police dogs are often the unsung heroes – it is fantastic that his efforts have been recognised. He is one in a million to me: he is my colleague and best mate, and I am extremely proud of him. He is very good at tracking and searching. He never gives up the chase.’
Brennan’s commendation related to a case where he and PC Finch were called to an incident in Basildon, where five occupants fled from a stolen car during the early hours of Friday, 15 June 2007. The officer said: ‘On arriving at the scene I put Brennan, a German Shepherd, to work on his tracking harness and he immediately picked up the scent, leading through the grounds of St Luke’s Hospice into the playing fields behind it. Brennan began growling, which means that suspects are close. In the distance I saw two figures hiding; as I approached them, they ran away. I identified myself as a police officer with a dog but they continued to run so I released Brennan, who took up the chase.’
The men climbed a five-foot fence into a field. When PC Finch reached Brennan, he had to lift the dog over it. PC Finch said: ‘He took up the trail again and led me to a dark wooded area, where he found two men hiding in the undergrowth. Brennan is trained to bark and contain when he locates a suspect but if he is shown aggression or resistance, he can bite to detain. Some people think that if you push the dog away or cause them pain, it will distract them. With Brennan, this is not the case. One of the men attacked Brennan by grabbing his ears, but Brennan took a hold of the man’s arm and a struggle ensued, with Brennan being pulled about aggressively by his ears while the man was threatening to hurt the dog further. This was a test of his courage and he proved his worth and dedication in apprehending a criminal.’ Backup arrived and the men were promptly arrested.
PC Finch added: ‘Brennan is, and always has been very keen to work. He has done extremely well in all aspects of general police duties and has for me been responsible for more than 100 arrests in the past two years, which were purely down to Brennan alone. He has a great individual personality and is larger than life.
‘Police dogs are very loyal to their handlers and will protect them to the extreme. It is a bond only a dog handler can truly understand, as shown more recently when myself and a colleague were violently attacked in a different incident, causing serious injury to us both. Brennan was also attacked and suffered a vicious beating, but held on and even when thrown off and kicked, he did not back down.’
Brennan retired in September 2010 and lived with PC Finch until the dog died, aged nine. PC Finch said: ‘I will miss Brennan greatly. He had a great individual personality and was always there, watching my back while we were at work. His passing is the end of an era for me and I will never forget him.’
Such is the bravery of the German Shepherd often their courage is almost taken for granted. Take the case of Odin, who seemed unafraid even of bullets. It was nearly midnight in early March of 2004 when Constable Bill Dodd and Odin got the call that Calgary Police Service in Canada had spotted a car parking at the rear of a suspected drug dealer’s house. When Dodd and his police dog investigated, two suspects fled from the car.
One man was caught, but in the struggle that followed the other man fired a handgun, narrowly missing one of the officers. The suspected drug dealer then fled on foot into the darkness of the neighbourhood. There was no snow on the ground, no easy footprint trail to follow, so officers called for canine and tactical squad backup.
Constable Dodd and his police dog Odin were alerted to an infrared hot spot detected on the ground by the police helicopter. Now it was a matter of finding the suspect in the dark before further shots were fired: already the man had shown he was willing to use deadly force. Odin began to track the scent as Constable Dodd held him on a 30-foot line. The 90lb police dog went through an opening in a fence then suddenly started pulling hard on the leash. Constable Dodd knew his dog had located the suspect so he called other officers to the site.
The tactical team shined flashlight beams over the yard but it was difficult to pick out the suspect. Odin strained at the leash, eager to finish the job. Constable Dodd knew his companion couldn’t be left exposed as a potential target, so he released the line. At that moment, the man jumped up and raised his handgun. Before he could fire, however, the brave police dog had jumped on him, knocking the gun from his hand. In an instant, he had the suspect on the ground. Police swarmed the scene and handcuffed him. Both Constable Dodd and Odin, his partner of six years, received commendations for their actions that night.
Such are the qualities of the German Shepherd even an appalling start in life doesn’t seem to hold them back. Jake, who became an award-winning police dog, illustrates this perfectly.
Jake was found tied to a lamppost when he was just seven weeks old – he had been teased mercilessly by youngsters, playing with fireworks and frightening the puppy. But brave Jake recovered after being cared for by Northumbria Police and qualified as a police dog just before his first birthday.
After finding a woman who had collapsed in bushes in South Shields less than an hour after she was reported missing, Jake was praised by senior officers. He had discovered the unconscious 39-year-old under deep shrubbery near Harton Cemetery in South Shields.
Jake’s handler, PC Alistair Cairnie-Coates, said he was delighted with his dog’s success after such a poor start in life. PC Cairnie-Coates, based at South Shields with Jake, said: ‘I’m very proud of him and glad he’s getting the recognition he deserves. It’s amazing how well he’s doing after having such a bad start in life – he just gets on with it and I’m sure he will be an asset to the force in the years to come.’
Jake was given an award by the German Shepherd Dog Rescue and Rehoming Centre in Newcastle. The rescue centre’s re-homing co-ordinator Alyson Lockwood, who presented it, said: ‘We are delighted that Jake has found a job that he enjoys. Considering the ordeal he went through as a puppy, he is such a confident and boisterous dog. We heard that he did so well to find the missing