West Yorkshire Police's furriest recruits celebrate their first birthday

These pups joined the Force earlier this year and have proved very popular with officers, police staff and members of the public who have met them.

Based at the Carr Gate Training Complex, Trainee Police Dog (TPD) Mali, TPD Leo, TPD Bruce and TPD Zero are being prepared to start their initial training, which begins next year.

It will see them being put through their paces with the aim of becoming fully-fledged working police dogs.

The four pups were born on October 21 2020 and are all Malinois breed dogs, a type of Belgian Sheepdog.

They have spent the past few months familiarising themselves with their environment and visiting different stations across the Force. All four have also been doing basic novice training that’s appropriate for their age.

Inspector Nicola Brown, who heads up the West Yorkshire Police dog section, said: “These four dogs have been a valuable addition to our team.

“Their training programme will be rigorous and it will ensure that they can support us in some of the most demanding scenarios in the fight against crime.

“The course begins in the spring and the dogs will have a structured, intense programme. Since they arrived with us they have been doing bits of basic obedience, search and tracking. They have made some excellent progress and really are part of the team.

“I’d like to thank the handlers and our other Police Dogs who will play an important role in their development.

“Colleagues from across the force have really assisted in their socialisation and equipping them with the basic skills to prepare them for the road ahead and we are grateful to that.”