The first day on the job can be a nerve-wracking experience for anyone, so we can’t imagine what it must be life for those in unpredictable jobs such as members of the police force. You never know what your first day might bring, and it’s really a true test of whether all your job training has paid off!
So when a police dog was challenged with a very important mission on his first day on the job, it was a nail-biting moment for both the pup and his trainers as everyone waited to see whether he would be up for the challenge or not. But this clever boy was more than capable of proving himself, and amazingly, he managed to find a missing woman and her baby by the end of his first day! Now that’s something to go on the CV.
Despite it being his first day at work, newly licensed Dyfed-Powys Police dog Max was feeling confident and was looking forward to prove himself. So when the Carmarthenshire police force received news of a missing woman and baby, Max and his handler PC Peter Lloyd were straight on the case.
Just before midday on Saturday, August 1, Max and Peter were assigned their important job.
The woman and her young child had been missing since the night before, and a search party was set up in a remote location in Powys. It was a matter of urgency that the pair were found, and two-year-old German Shepherd cross Max and Peter covered a ‘significant distance’ in an attempt to find the missing pair.
Inspector Jonathan Rees-Jones said in a statement: “The woman had not been seen or spoken to for two days, which was out of character, and her phone wasn’t working, so naturally concern for her safety was high.”
The police force then had to work quickly to track the mom and her child down as quickly as possible.
“Response officers, neighbourhood policing teams and specialist search officers were dispatched to her home, and enquiries were carried out to try and trace her steps.”
Within no time, the woman’s car was found on the side of a mountain road. However, although this gave officers the location to hold their search in, there was still a vast area in which the pair could have traveled to given the time frame. It could have been long work – but Max’s help would make all the difference.
Inspector Jonathan Rees-Jones said, “This is where PD Max’s tracking skills really came into play. Despite only recently becoming licensed, and on his first operational shift, he immediately commenced an open area search.”
At around 1:30 pm, thanks to Max, Officer Peter spotted the missing woman waving for help near a steep ravine on the mountainside.
Apparently “they were safe, but cold, and appeared to have been in the area for a significant amount of time.”
The mom and her child were safely brought down from the ravine and checked over as a precaution by the ambulance team. Meanwhile, Max and Peter could leave the scene with a feeling of satisfaction, knowing that their first mission had been a success.
Peter said: “I was really pleased that during our first operational deployment as a dog team, myself and Max were able to safely locate the missing mother and baby. Max remained focused throughout the long search and he proved invaluable when he reacted to the call for help which resulted in us locating them.”
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