One of the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Dog Unit Facebook stars has retired at the grand old age of ten.

 

Facebook star, Ted, a Springer Spaniel, who was given as a gift dog to Bedfordshire Police in 2003, has retired to Sawtry and straight in to the lap of luxury.

 

Ted was a highly trained drugs and firearms sniffer dog who won the hearts of the public after appearing at a media event in 2010, demonstrating his skills for the cameras. Shortly after, he appeared on Facebook as one of the public faces of the unit.

 

PC Jason Keir, who has been Ted’s handler and constant companion since 2004, said: “Ted is a real personality and an excellent police dog. Over the years he has found firearms and large amounts of drugs and cash and helped lock criminals up to keep the public safe.

 

Facebook star, Ted, a Springer Spaniel, who was given as a gift dog to Bedfordshire Police in 2003, has retired to Sawtry and straight in to the lap of luxury.“During Ted's service he had two ligament operations on both back legs at different times, which would normally mean early retirement, but he made such a good recovery after both operations and managed another years’ service.”

 

He continued: “I visit him to ensure he has settled in, (which took him less than a week), and he is still so energetic - he spends hours playing with his beloved tennis ball or collecting rotten apples from his new owners’ garden and stacking them in his new home to play with later.

 

PC Jason Keir, who has been Ted’s handler and constant companion since 2004, said: “Ted is a real personality and an excellent police dog. Over the years he has found firearms and large amounts of drugs and cash and helped lock criminals up to keep the public safe.“After having Ted for nearly nine years I do miss him and so do my children but I know he is having a nice life being spoilt, sleeping on a sofa and living indoors for the first time.”

 

Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Dogs Unit


Since April 1st this year, the Dog Unit has attended 1395 incidents and made 214 arrests as a direct result of the dog handlers and their work

The unit, which has 39 dogs made up of four breeds, has three different types of core skills.  The first, the general purpose dog - usually German Shepherds - are used for everyday patrol, tracking and searching for offenders and missing people, together with crowd control.  The second, the proactive dogs, are ‘sniffer dogs’ trained to locate drugs, money, firearms and explosives.  The third, passive drug dogs, are trained to locate drugs in busy environments and often work undercover with their handlers.

Ted was a highly trained drugs and firearms sniffer dog who won the hearts of the public after appearing at a media event in 2010, demonstrating his skills for the cameras. Shortly after, he appeared on Facebook as one of the public faces of the unit.Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Dog Unit often re-home dogs if they are unable to fit into family life and in general these dogs can often become excellent police dogs.  Anyone who feels they have an appropriate young dog they can no longer provide a home should consider contacting police, who can assess if the animal is right for a career in the police service.

If you have a dog that you think may make a good police dog you can call the Dog Unit on 01707 354476 during office hours.