A couple of weeks ago, we were lucky enough to have four police officers come in to show off their working police dogs. Vinnie was one of the police officers who talked to us about police dogs and the job of being a police dog handler. This was awesome, as some of the classes in the Senior School have been learning about how humans use animals.  He shared with us the process they take from a puppy to a working dog. All of the police dogs are German Shepherds. Vinnie told us that the dogs love their jobs and always want to go to work.

We learnt that the dogs can do a lot of different things. For example, they use their excellent sense of smell to find people.  If a thief or someone the police officers are looking for is hiding somewhere, such as a cupboard, garden shed, or anywhere else, the police dogs follow the scent and will sit outside and bark, allowing their handlers and other police officers to do their job.

After Vinnie and the other police officers answered loads of questions, we went outside to the backfield while the police dog handlers went to get their dogs. Then the handlers brought them out to the field and demonstrated what they do for their jobs with a few tricks and obedience.  They also demonstrated with Obi (one of the dogs) how fast they can run when he chased after one of the police officers who was dressed up as an offender who wasn’t stopping after being asked by the police officer. Obi chased after him and latched onto his arm (he had a protective bite sleeve on). The dog handlers also showed us their tracking by finding Mr Mason’s Keys that were hidden in the grass. 

All of this showed us that police dogs are really helpful and work as a team with their handlers.

Written by Pippa and Sara