Police Dog to Receive an Award for Rescue

A police dog is to receive an award for his part in the rescue of a woman missing in Northumberland countryside.
Louis, a two-year-old Belgian Malinois, could not pick up a scent in the deep undergrowth of the Derwent Valley but spotted the woman as sunlight faded.

Hospital staff said the woman might not have survived the night last June if she had not been found.

Louis and his handler Pc Steve Henry will receive the award at the Crufts dog show this week.

The pair will pick up the Police Dog Team Humanitarian Action of the Year prize.

Pc Henry, of Northumbria Police, said: "I was determined to find this woman and when Louis began barking to let me know he had found someone during the search, I rushed to where he was.

"It just goes to show that all our training as a dog team had paid off."

Ch Insp Jim McAll added: "Hospital staff said if the woman had not been found that night she might not have survived until the next morning.

"Steve is part of a well motivated, professional and hard working team of officers and both his and his dog's actions reflect this."