A police dog-handler has expressed his delight - after collecting a posthumous award for canine hero Ty.
West Yorkshire’s Pc Jerry White was honoured with the award from the PDSA after he and Ty found a missing vulnerable elderly woman in 2007.
The PDSA invited PC White to nominate Ty, who died in 2013, for the award, after the rescue was mentioned in a newspaper article last year.
PC White, and Ty, a German Shepherd, were called out after the 86-year-old woman went missing from a care home in Mirfield in the early hours of May 3, 2007.
As the first officer on the scene, Pc White found she had been missing for two hours and had taken a number of sleeping tablets. She was wearing only thin nightwear, and was said to be unsteady on her feet and was referred to as very confused by care home colleagues.
Ty quickly established the scent and following a search, located the missing 86-year-old trapped in some fencing, under some bushes.
They were able to contact other officers and paramedics who made their way to the scene to rescue the woman. The consequences of not locating the missing person that evening could have been fatal, however thanks to the swift action of PC White and Ty, they brought to a safe and successful conclusion.
Ty was brought from a dog rescue in 2003, when he was aged two, and was trained as a general purpose dog. But he later qualified as a firearms search dog and support dog and a specialist firearms dog.
Throughout his career, Ty detained a number offenders including murder suspects. Although being the type of dog that people generally expect to be aggressive, many officers found him very social and friendly. Away from work, he enjoyed nothing more than sunbathing in the garden.
Ty retired in 2011 and died in 2013.
PC White has been a dog handler for 13 years, and presently has Nez, a black German Shepherd and Murphy a Springer Spaniel, known not only for his enthusiasm but distinctive mohican hair cut.
Chief Insp Chris Corkindale said: “It is always a pleasure to recognise the exceptional hard work and dedication of our colleagues. This award, is even more special recognising the tremendous work of one of our sadly departed police dogs, Ty.
“Incidents like this one, further emphasise the rationale for police forces making use of resources such as police dogs, and how valuable they are to the policing family in being able to help solve crime, and protect the vulnerable.”
Pc White said, “I am delighted to receive this award today on behalf of Ty. His work that night, like every other deployment was exceptional, and without him I am not sure what we would have been able to locate the missing lady so swiftly.”
