Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!
By Anthony Bartram for BBC News
When you see a German Shepherd dog chase down and tackle a criminal, there can be little doubt they are highly trained. But highly valued?
It is a question Nottinghamshire Police have had to address since an officer left two police dogs locked in car on a blisteringly hot day. Pc Mark Johnson has been found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to Jay-Jay and Jet who both died trapped in the vehicle outside the force headquarters.
The news caused outrage among animal lovers with condemnation coming from as far afield as New York and Mexico. The incident has been investigated by the RSPCA and the practices within the dog section has been reviewed by Nottinghamshire Police.
In response to the hundreds of letters, which have demanded such a mistake never happens again, new air conditioned vehicles have been added to the fleet for handlers and their dogs. Police say strict kennelling procedures have been brought in and people who ask will be allowed to see for themselves how the dogs are treated.
And officers claimed the lessons learned from this summer’s tragedy will now being shared with every dog section in the country. Ch Supt Ak Khan said: “Our unit has a proud history of caring for its animals and we are devastated and hurt by what has happened.
“We are going to learn from those lessons and do whatever we can to make sure that sort of thing never happens again.
To read the rest click here.
Its all very well that there are new air/con fleet vehicles for the force but these dogs were NOT in a police car, but in the 'policemans' own personal car!!! How on earth can this be addressed???
The man should have been sacked IMMEDIATELY and banned from keeping dogs for at least 12 yrs if not life! The fact he was employed as a dog handler within the police force should be someone who excels in his understanding and treatment of those poor dogs. If his pathetic excuse was he was suffering from depression, then he should have taken time off work ill, so he couldnt have been that ill!
If he had shot two other policemen, would that have been acceptable? I think not.
In my opinion, ANYONE who causes suffering to any animal, should have the exact same treatment inflicted on themselves.