Handler – Sergeant Gav College<\/p>\n
Retired Police Dog Russell died at the age of 14 <\/p>\n
Retired Police Dog Russell sadly died aged 14 at the start of the week. The Cocker Spaniel started his journey with the Force as a puppy in 2009 and worked as an operational search dog for eight years alongside his best friend and handler, Sergeant Gav College. Russell would regularly attend local events such as the Sunderland Airshow and football stadiums including St James\u2019 Park and the Stadium of Light. He also served in the capital at the Royal Albert Hall in the lead-up to the late Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s 90th birthday celebrations and in the London 2012 Olympic Park. Despite him retiring from operational duties, he returned to work in 2018 at nine-years-old at Northumbria Police\u2019s first Community Support Dog. His owner and former handler, Sergeant Sally College, commented: \u201cRussell was the most gentle-natured and loving dog \u2013 but also a manic search machine when in work mode, and he loved a tennis ball. \u201cA highlight for me during his role as a Community Engagement Dog was when Russell visited a dementia caf\u00e9 where a gentleman took a shine to him, stroking him and smiling. \u201cHis wife started to cry, saying it was the first time in two years that her husband, who had severe dementia, had shown any emotion and she was going to buy a dog. \u201cRussell was so switched onto people\u2019s emotions and feelings. He knew instinctively if someone was not well or was having trouble reaching him \u2013 if this was the case, he would gently put his paws out to help them. \u201cIt\u2019s fair to say that Russell was a unique character who touched the lives of so many people during his life \u2013 we will miss him so very much.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Handler – Sergeant Gav College Retired Police Dog Russell died at the age of 14 Retired Police Dog Russell sadly died aged 14 at the start of the week. The Cocker Spaniel started his journey with the Force as a puppy in 2009 and worked as an operational search dog for eight years alongside his …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14036,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-14034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-england"],"yoast_head":"\n