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A police dog was commended for a job well done on its first day on the field after finding a missing mother and her 1-year-old baby in the United Kingdom.
The mother and child, who were found by the edge of a ravine, was tracked down by 2-year-old German Shepherd cross Max and his handler police constable Peter Lloyd, as per Dyfed-Powys Police last Wednesday, Aug. 5.
Max covered a lot of ground to find the duo during his first duty on Aug. 1. Authorities received a report that the mom had been missing for two days. Her phone was also unreachable, which was why there were concerns over her safety.
After searching her house, asking around the neighborhood and trying to retrace the woman’s steps, police found her car on a mountain road. The location of the car gave the officers a lead on where to search, but it was a vast area to cover given that she had been missing for a couple of days.
“This is where PD Max’s tracking skills really came into play,” Inspector Jonathan Rees-Jones was quoted as saying. “Despite only recently becoming licensed, and on his first operational shift, he immediately commenced an open area search.”
Guided by Max, the officers found the woman waving for help near a steep ravine on a mountainside. After being assisted to a safer location, she and her child were immediately given medical attention.
Rees-Jones commended the team’s effort and the “fantastic” coordination of the group to ensure that the mom and baby were safe.
“I must give a special mention to PC Pete Lloyd and Max, who on their very first day since completing their training together covered a significant amount of mileage in the search, eventually locating them safe,” he said.
Max is a general purpose dog. He specializes in tracking and locating individuals in buildings and open air. He is also trained in tracing discarded property and tracking and detaining suspects.
Lloyd likewise lauded his canine partner on their first deployment together.
“Max remained [focused] throughout the long search,” he said. “[He] proved invaluable when he reacted to the call for help which resulted in us locating them.” /ra
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