Police dogs named by school children now ready for duty

Three police dogs who were named by local schoolchildren in a competition have graduated from training school and are now ready for duty.

PD Thor and PD Luna, who are brother and sister, and PD Loki were named by local primary pupils Leo, Cody and Lauren, who were invited to meet the dogs at West Mercia Police headquarters in Hindlip.

The three liver-and-white English springer spaniels, alongside PD Alfie, a Collie, have now completed their training and are ready for deployment as firearms, drugs and cash detection dogs.

Thor and Luna were born in June 2021 and Loki in August 2021. At eight weeks they teamed up with their handlers to begin their training, spending many hours learning to follow instructions and develop their nose for a search.

Alfie joined them on the specialist search dog course that lasted for six weeks and on 20 October, they all passed their assessment by a National Police Chiefs Council instructor.

PD Thor is looked after by PC Marcus Surridge in Worcestershire. PC Andrew Smith takes care of PD Luna in Shropshire. PD Loki was teamed up with PC Sam Davies in Herefordshire and PD Alfie is alongside PC Mary Stone in Worcestershire.

The funding for Thor, Luna and Loki was provided by the Economic Crime Unit who recovered proceeds from criminals involved in drugs supply.

Detective Inspector Emma Wright from the Economic Crime Unit said: “It’s a privilege to see Loki, Luna, Thor and Alfie graduate as fully fledged police dogs.

“It’s great to see funds earned by taking back the proceeds of criminal activity diverted to provide three highly valuable assets for the force, who can now go out and help officers tackle crime.”

Issued by AW, Corporate Communications