A police dog is finally putting his paws up after retiring from public service.

PD Tommy, a Dutch Herder / Belgian Malinois cross, joined the force in 2018 and quickly gained a reputation as an exceptional dog with a natural ability to find criminals.

Unusually for a police dog, he has had several handlers during his career – a testament to his placid, obedient nature, and his exceptional skill level.

Over the years he notched up several successes, including in May 2023 when he sniffed out a violent criminal hiding under a pile of wood in a garden.

A few weeks previously he demonstrated his exceptional tracking skills by locating the driver of a stolen car in a field.

The man had led police on a high-speed chase before abandoning the vehicle in a field and running from the scene.

Tommy turned up 20 minutes after the man was last seen but – using the scent from the vehicle – soon tracked him down to a densely-wooded area where he was arrested.

Pc Nicholas Dachtler, a dog handler and trainer at Nottinghamshire Police, who worked with Tommy in the past, said: “Tommy really has been an exceptional police dog over the years and possesses every quality you could wish for in a service dog.

“He is obedient, loyal, brave and has always had a natural ability to track down and catch criminals.

“Most of our dogs stay with a single handler for many years – slowly developing and improving on their partnership.

“It is testament to Tommy’s ability that he has been paired with several different handlers and has always performed exceptionally well.

“I really am pleased for him and his new owner that he is now able to retire in such good health with much of his life still ahead of him.”

Nottinghamshire Police has more than twenty police dogs in its ranks – a mixture of general purpose animals and specialist sniffer dogs trained to find drugs, cash and firearms.