Rescue dogs help Nottinghamshire Police fight crime

Rocky recently certified as a drugs, cash and firearms sniffer dog

Two dogs that were in the care of a rescue charity are now helping to fight crime after being recruited by Nottinghamshire Police.

Staff at Dogs Trust recognised Rocket and Rocky had qualities that made them ideal candidates for police training.

They were intelligent, eager to learn and had a high play drive with a ball, the charity said.

Both have now qualified as police dogs and have proven their ability to track suspects and sniff out hidden drugs.

Rocket, a two-year-old Belgian Malinois, was taken to Dogs Trust in IIfracombe, Devon, in June 2022 when he was a puppy.

He was adopted two months later and went on to pass his police training "with flying colours".

Nottinghamshire Police said he detained his first suspects last month.

Rocket was taken to Dogs Trust in IIfracombe, Devon, when he was a puppy

Labrador Rocky was handed into Dogs Trust in Loughborough, Leicestershire, after his owner could no longer care for him.

He recently certified as a drugs, cash and firearms sniffer dog and found hidden drugs on his very first job.

The pair follow in the paw-steps of Dougie, another rescue Labrador who started working as a drugs dog at the force last year.

Police said he now worked to make the night-time economy safer.

Dogs Trust said it was thrilled the rescue dogs were now reaching their full potential

Ch Insp Amy English, responsible for the dog section at Nottinghamshire Police, said: "Finding good candidates for police dog training is not easy.

"These dogs may not have had the best start in life, but they have now found a long-term home with us and are absolutely thriving."

Louise Crawford, from Dogs Trust, said she was thrilled that all three dogs were now reaching their full potential.

"It's a wonderful message to promote about rescue dogs and how special they are," she said.