A retired police dog in England is being hailed as a hero for locating a man in distress while out on a walk. On his 12th birthday, during his first walk since undergoing major surgery to remove benign tumors, retired police K9 Bear sensed someone nearby was in trouble and immediately “went into work mode.” He led his owner, former police officer Julia Pope, to a dense area of undergrowth where they found a vulnerable man who’d fallen and was unable to get up.
Wet, cold, and confused, the man had been missing and was being searched for by local authorities. Pope explains that Bear’s quick actions likely saved the man’s life as temperatures were dropping as night fell. Bear led Pope and the man back to a location where the man was safely handed over to police officers and reunited with his family. Pope describes the rescue as an "amazing stroke of luck."
Despite retiring in 2020, Bear continues to serve as a well-being and trauma support dog for police staff. Kieran Stanbridge, trustee from the Thin Blue Paw Foundation, an organization that supports former police dogs like Bear, praised him as a "true hero," sharing that his instincts and training continue to make a lifesaving difference, even in retirement.
Source: SKY NEWS
Photo: Jacques Julien / Moment / Getty Images