Abandoned puppy deemed 'too boisterous' to be family pet rescued by police and will spend his life fighting crime
An abandoned puppy will spend his life fighting crime after two rehoming attempts failed as he struggled to adapt to a life relaxing on the sofa or in front of the fire.
Seventeen-month-old Rolo has spent recent weeks in the care of the staff at the Newcastle Cat and Dog Shelter who feared he may never find a new family.
They were concerned that the Springador pup would be too boisterous for a family setting and required a lot of mental stimulation.
So staff decided to put a call in to the dog section at Northumbria Police – to see if he would be suited to a career in uniform.
Seeing the potential in Rolo, the force seized the opportunity and Rolo was this week introduced to his handler PC Dave Robinson.
The adorable pup will now be living with the officer and his family as he learns the basics of the job on the specialist puppy programme.
PC Robinson said: “Rolo possesses great attributes of a working dog, his high energy levels and the way he thrives off mental stimulation is great to see in our police dog recruits.
“He is enrolled onto our specialist puppy programme at the moment where he will master the basics and then next year things will ramp up for him.
“When he gets used to being around crowds and knows his basic commands then we will start him on the initial detection course where he will learn to detect drugs, cash and weapons.
“We are just glad we have been able to give him a loving home.”
The animal welfare manager at Newcastle Cat and Dog Shelter, Anjuli Hakin, added that both homes Rollo was trialled in had returned him with identical stories as he couldn’t relax in a home environment.
“Once he came back to our rehoming centre and his behaviour in foster care was discussed, it became apparent to the staff very quickly that Rolo wasn’t cut out to be a pet.
“Rolo needed more out of life. His love and drive for toys and food, alongside his desire to keep active, it was obvious he needed a bigger role in the world - and so we reached out to Northumbria Police and his future is looking very bright.”