Met’s Newest Police Dogs Ready to Hit London Streets
Commissioner Cressida Dick proudly welcomed a fresh litter of police pups this week. On Thursday, 30 May, six German Shepherds officially ‘passed out’ as full-fledged Met police dogs.
Meet the Palmer Litter
Barney, Rufus, Ludo, Riggs, Max, and their sister Freya were born at the Met Police Dog Training Establishment in Keston back in 2017. Their proud parents are also serving police dogs. This litter has a special name — the ‘Palmer Litter’ — honouring PC Keith Palmer, murdered in the Westminster terror attack.
Each puppy’s name was chosen by PC Palmer’s family, linking the dogs forever to his heroic legacy. The pups trained hard alongside their handlers — PC Gareth Head, Stu Field, David Perkins, Steven Douglas, Justin Wiseman, and Bridget Tottman-Shaw — since they were just seven weeks old.
From Training Grounds to London Streets
After receiving their police dog licences from Commissioner Dick, the Palmer Litter will join the fight on London’s streets come June. As general purpose police dogs, they will track suspects by scent and locate weapons like guns and knives.
They boost a force already counting over 200 operational dogs. Half are German Shepherds or Belgian Malinois, trained for general duties, armed ops, and public order policing. Meanwhile, nearly 100 Springer Spaniels, Cocker Spaniels, and Sprockers specialise in sniffing out forensic evidence such as drugs and cash.
All police dogs live with their handlers, becoming part of their families until retirement around age eight.
Commissioner Cressida Dick Hails Police Dogs’ Heroism
“It was an absolute pleasure to watch these exceptionally well trained and skilled dogs officially join the Met family as fully fledged police dogs,” said Commissioner Dick.
“Every day, all over London, police dogs protect people, help arrest suspects, find weapons, and secure vital evidence. Most of their amazing work gets very little public acclaim, but we must never forget the extraordinary role they and their brave handlers play in keeping us safe.”
