Honoured for locating an elderly lady who went missing
A police dog who helped to locate a missing person has received devotion award from veterinary charity PDSA.
Police dog Ty was nominated for the PDSA Commendation Award by his handler, PC Jerry White, after successfully locating a missing elderly lady in West Yorkshire in May 2007. Sadly the German Shepherd died in 2014 and his award was accepted by PC White.
Recalling the event, PC White said: “Ty and I were called to a care home where an elderly resident had gone missing at night after taking sleeping tablets.
"Ty soon picked up a trail nearby and led me to nearby gardens where he stopped and began barking. As I shone my torch I heard a soft cry for help and spotted the lady on the ground hidden by bushes."
PC White firmly believes that Ty's fast actions helped to save the lady's life.
He added: "The lady had been missing for several hours in cold weather. If officers had needed to do a physical search it could have taken hours to locate her, by which point it could have been too late to save her."
Ty's certificate was presented at a ceremony at West Yorkshire Police Training & Development Centre by PDSA director general, Jan McLoughlin.
Jan said: “The PDSA Commendation recognises the outstanding devotion that animals display and celebrates the amazing ways they enrich our lives. It is clear that Ty made an incredible contribution to keeping his community safe during his time with West Yorkshire Police and he is a worthy recipient of the PDSA Commendation.”
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
