FIVE new police dogs were welcomed into the ranks of the Tri Force this week after the pups and their handlers completed a gruelling 13 weeks of intensive training.

PC Ali Davies and PD Lorrie of Wiltshire Police, PC Adey Cole and PD Shadow and PC Ben Hall and PD Dutch of Gloucestershire Constabulary and PC Liam Biggs and PD Bodge and PC Baz Johnson and PD Leia of Avon and Somerset received their licences on Wednesday from Tri-Force Superintendent Mark Sellards.

They will make their appearances across the region in the near future.

Dog trainer Ian Partington said: “All the handlers on this course, except PC Ben Hall, are new to dog handling so we were teaching the handlers as well as the dogs – it was a great course, with some challenges.

"Training to become a dog handler is like nothing else in the police force – you have some good days with your dog and they do everything brilliantly, then the next day it will be completely different.

"It requires a lot of patience and dedication but the handlers have really enjoyed themselves and we’ve now got five new dogs on Tri-Force which is great.”

During the 13 weeks, the dogs are tested on a variety of areas, including obedience, agility, tracking, searching and crowd control and now they are qualified, they can be expect to be called to assist on a wide variety of incidents.

PC Ali Davies said: “It was a great course – you are constantly learning something new. I’m really going to enjoy the independence of being a dog handler – previously I was a response officer so I was policing just one area, whereas now I never know where I will end up each day.”

Superintendent Sellers added: “I know how hard this course is and I know how difficult the selection process is. The handlers should all be extremely proud that they have received their licences and I look forward to hearing some good operational stories from them in the months that follow.

“Being a dog handler is a difficult field of work but it is often our brilliant police dogs who deliver really great results, especially when searching is required.

“It’s not just a job, it’s a lifestyle and I don’t underestimate how difficult it must be to dedicate so much time to looking after the dogs both at home and at work.

"I’d like to thank the new teams for the hard work they have put in over previous weeks.”