Retired police dog awarded national honour for saving lives

Luna, 10, was awarded the honour for saving more lives than is the norm for general purpose police dogs.

Retired police dog Luna awarded national honour for saving lives in central Scotland — Heroic PD: Retired police dog awarded national honour for saving more lives in her career than is the norm for general purpose police dogs. Police Scotland

23rd Sep 2022

A retired police dog and her handler have been awarded a national honour for saving lives in central Scotland.

Luna, a ten-year-old German Shepherd, helped save 38 lives throughout her career alongside her handler, Constable Linda McBride.

Believed to have saved more people than most general purpose police dogs, the pair were presented with the Lifesaver award from Thin Blue Paw Foundation in England on Thursday.

It comes shortly after the end of Luna’s career in June 2022, after being based in the Larbert area for her eight years of service.

“Luna was an exceptional police dog to work alongside and I’m very proud of her. She would continue to work if the choice was hers,” said constable McBride.

“Luna gained respect from dog handlers, frontline colleagues and management over the years due to her incredible natural ability to locate people quickly.

“It’s a lovely ending to her police career.”

Chief superintendent Helen Harrison, head of Specialist Services, said: “The bond between all of our police dogs and their handlers is amazing and the hours of training put in to achieve that is incredible.

“They put in a huge amount of hard work and commitment into what they do.

“I’m delighted that Luna and Linda have been recognised nationally for their service.”