My Day at COP26: ‘My police dog doesn't care if Biden is here - he gets on with the job’
- Published
For weeks, Police Scotland's Sgt Lynsey Buchanan-Barlas and her dog Nico have been searching Glasgow's streets for explosives ahead of COP26. In the latest of a series of first-person accounts from the summit, she explains how they work together as a team.
Everyone in the police will tell you they think being a dog handler is the best job in the force. It doesn't feel like work a lot of the time. You have to pinch yourself and remember you're getting paid for it.
Nico, my police dog, is six and a half. He's a working cocker spaniel and I've had him since he was just over a year old. He's actually a rescue dog - I think he'd been too much for his previous owner. I went through a course with him and ended up with a licence in searching for explosives.
He lives at home with me, my family, my two young kids - my two pet dogs as well.
I have a really strong bond with him. Whenever I'm at work he won't look at anyone else. Other officers will try to talk to him, but he just blanks them. He's always so focused on me. I put the harness on him and he wants to work - that's all he wants to do.
In my day-to-day role, I'm the national dog training supervisor for all the police dogs in Scotland. But for COP26, I'm basically acting as an explosives search dog handler.
We've been working on the summit since 18 October. This is my third week doing quite long shifts, searching whenever there's a need to search. Obviously, there are different things going on with lots of important people at venues around the city. It's all about keeping people safe, at the end of the day.
The dogs are the brains of the operation, I just hold the lead
It's very methodical work. We need to cover every square inch.
But the dogs are professional and know what they're doing. If anything has been planted with explosives in it, the dogs will find it.
I always say, they're the brains of the operation. I just hold the lead.
My Day at COP26:
Nico and I have been searching hotels around the city with lots of visitors and staff coming and going. The dogs are quite well trained in that they will work around people.
But searching the kitchen area is an absolute nightmare because, at the end of the day, Nico's just a dog. He wants to get in among the food as best he can - so that's a bit of a challenge.
Working at COP26 is a real privilege. I'm Glaswegian through and through - I work in Glasgow, I live on the outskirts of the city. I'm super-proud to be part of it.
But Nico doesn't go: "Oh, this is massive. The president's here." He just goes about his job and that's great for me. It's what we're trained to do day in, day out.
As told to Jon Kelly
The COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. Almost 200 countries are being asked for their plans to cut emissions, and it could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.
