Max the police dog given award for his rescue work
A police dog who found a missing woman and her baby on his very first shift has been honoured with a national award for his success.
Dyfed-Powys Police dog Max won the Hero category at the Daily Mirror Animal Hero Awards 2020 for his tracking skills, which led officers to the missing pair.
Max and his handler Constable Peter Lloyd were on their first operational shift together in August when they joined the search for the woman and her one-year-old in remote countryside in the Brecon area.
They were called into duty at just before midday on August 1, 2020, when the force received a call reporting the mother missing and immediately launched a search to find her and her child.
Joining response, NPT and specialist search officers, Constable Lloyd and Max faced a huge task on their first shift together.
“They’d been missing for some time so there was big concern,” Constable Lloyd said.
“There was a one-year-old baby, it wasn’t a warm day and at night the temperature had dropped considerably.
"She’d been out all night with the child. You do ramp up your search and give it that extra bit.”
After 90 minutes of searching, Max, a two-year-old German Shepherd cross, led Constable Lloyd to the edge of a steep ravine, where the woman was waving and calling for help.
Mother and baby were cold and tired, but otherwise unharmed.
“Max remained focused throughout the long search and he proved invaluable when he reacted to the call for help,” Constable Lloyd added.
Receiving the award, Constable Lloyd added: “I would like to thank everyone who voted for Max to be nominated for this award.”
