It was a busy night for a rookie police dog who helped catch a burglar and save a life in the space of just a few hours.
Police dog Axel has been treated to a bone and a belly rub after another excellent shift at Northumbria Police on Monday evening.
The 15-month-old Belgian Malinois only fully qualified as a K9 at the Force’s Dog Section at the end of May but he is already had a busy first month on duty.
And yesterday he impressed again after he and handler PC Robert Burn responded to intruders at Newcastle’s General Hospital at 11.30pm.
The crime-fighting team scoured the building before confronting a suspected thief as he tried to leave through a side door. He was detained and arrested.
But within an hour the pair were back out on duty after responding to report that a patient had fled from a hospital in Northumberland.
They carried out a search of nearby woodland before Axel found the vulnerable man sleeping under a tree just before 4am. He was taken back to hospital but was fit and well.
Today the rookie police dog is enjoying a well-deserved rest and a top cop at Northumbria Police says Axel’s busy night shows the importance of their canine colleagues.
Chief Inspector Mick Hall said:
“Our police dogs are a fantastic asset to the force and these results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our handlers.
“PC Burn and Axel are a fantastic team and their shift on Monday night shows the diversity of the different incidents they are required to respond to.
“Our rookie pups are certainly making an impression and Axel’s performance comes just a couple of weeks after his brother Alfie had a fantastic arrest of a burglary suspect.
“Not only do they help us detain criminals but they also help us save lives – who how long it would have taken to find the missing hospital patient if it weren’t for Axel’s nose.
“We will continue to work hard to keep our communities safe and we hope the hard work of Axel and his canine colleagues reassure you that you’re in safe paws.”
The 28-year-old man arrested at the General Hospital remains in custody at this time.
If you want to follow the work of Northumbria Police’s Dog Section then you can follow them on Twitter at @NPDogSection.
For just £3-per-month, our team will send you a weekly digest of the most-read stories and most-watched videos from the front line of the worlds emergency services. CLICK HERE to find out more.
If you have the Google News app on your phone, don’t forget to follow ‘Emergency Services News’.
Got a story? Send your videos and pictures to contact@emergency-services.news. You can also find us on Twitter @ES_News_
Before you go...
WE NEED YOUR HELP.Here at Emergency Services News, we aim to tell you stories that the mainstream media are not interested in reporting. Whilst the MSM love to berate and ridicule the emergency services, who is there to report on the realities of serving on the front line?
Emergency Services News is currently a loss-making entity. But our team of volunteers, all former emergency services personnel, do not do it for the money.
We do it because we are sick and tired of the mainstream media constantly trying to undermine the men and women who put their lives on the line to keep you and your family safe.
How many MSM journalists who speak ill of the emergency services have actually dared to don the uniform and risk their own lives to save the life of a complete stranger? If you would like to help back our mission of reporting on fact-based news, then please consider helping to support us financially.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
PD Axel, what a dog. We had a Belgian. Always rounding us up when out for a walk. A sort of caring shy German Shepherd.