WEST Midlands Police has welcomed its latest four-legged crime fighters to the ranks.
The five-strong litter, born last month at the force’s centre in Balsall Common, have been named after Warwickshire County Cricket Club’s T20 team the Birmingham Bears.
This came following the close relationship the force has with Warwickshire County Cricket Club (WCCC).
The dog unit use Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham as part of its dog training programme and to familiarise the pups with a range of environments.
They have been named after Bears’ First Team Coach Mark Robinson (Robbo), Sam Hain, Issy Wong, Olly Hannon-Dalby and former cricketer Dennis Amiss.
The super cute springer spaniels will be trained as specialist sniffer dogs of the future, detecting evidence, searching for drugs and explosives, and keeping people safe across the region.
Terry Arnett, from the force’s Dog Unit’s Breed Scheme, said: “We really value the relationship we have with Edgbaston – the stadium provides a fantastic training opportunity for our dogs to sniff through the rows of seats and to become comfortable with stairs, gangways and ground entrances.
“We come along to the ground several times a year and everyone is always very welcoming.
“We thought it would be nice to name our latest litter after Bears players, and it’s great to hear there are lots of dog lovers in the squad.
“We’ve got a great success rate with our pups, and around 85 per cent of all our dogs go on to be operational police dogs.
“We’ve high hopes for the WCCC litter and we’ll be sure to keep their player namesakes and Bears’ fans updated on their progress.”
The canine quintet will spend the first year of their lives with volunteer puppy walkers.
They look after the pups, hone their desire to play and search, and help familiarise them with a range of different environments they might come across in police life.
Visit west-midlands.police.uk for more on becoming a West Midlands Police puppy walker.
