Handler – PC Matt Aris<\/p>\n
Former Police dog bear, crime-fighting canine of Rotherham, passes away<\/p>\n
A former police dog who helped keep Rotherham\u2019s streets safe has died.The criminal-catching efforts of German shepherd Bear were often featured on the force\u2019s social media channels.And the trusted four-legged officer was described as a valuable asset in tracking missing people and apprehending offenders. South Yorkshire Police paid tribute to the dog this week following its death. In January 2020, Bear chased a wanted man from Eastwood \u2014 cornering him in the toilets at Tesco on Drummond Street until he was arrested.But later that year, the animal failed to pass his annual licence test, which is required to ensure dogs and handlers continue to display the correct skills.Bear retired \u2014 but continued to live with his owner PC Matt Aris, his family, pets and police dogs Luna and Dexter.PC Aris said: \u201cI am forever grateful to Bear for his service and the protection he offered me while at work and I wanted to ensure his retirement was everything he deserved. \u201cHis retirement was not as long as we hoped for and we unfortunately had to make the hard decision to have Bear put to sleep, which broke all our hearts. \u201cHe lived his best retirement, long walks, swimming which he loved in summer, and cuddles by the fire in winter. He has left a huge hole in mine and my family\u2019s hearts.\u201d A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Police said: \u201cOur dogs are a huge part of our policing family. We thank Bear for his public service.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Handler – PC Matt Aris Former Police dog bear, crime-fighting canine of Rotherham, passes away A former police dog who helped keep Rotherham\u2019s streets safe has died.The criminal-catching efforts of German shepherd Bear were often featured on the force\u2019s social media channels.And the trusted four-legged officer was described as a valuable asset in tracking missing …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14336,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[31],"class_list":["post-14334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-england"],"yoast_head":"\n