Police dog Janus retires after 10 years
A police dog that has spent a decade pounding the streets, helping to collar hundreds of criminals, is retiring.
Crooks in the West Midlands will be glad to see the back of Belgian Malinois Janus, who is retiring after helping to capture 450 suspects with his current handler in the past four years alone.
The pooch has led a glittering career during his 10 years with West Midlands Police, and more recently was involved in policing the English Defence League march in Dudley.
However, Janus has decided that now is the time for a paws and let some of the younger recruits enjoy the limelight. Dog handler Pc Dan Thomas, who is keeping Janus as a pet, said: "He's an excellent dog in so many ways – extremely sociable, very playful, agile, fast and highly driven to work.
"He's been involved in some fantastic arrests and used his search skills to uncover a huge array of stolen property and evidence that's led to convictions.
"Janus will live out his days with me and my family.
"He'll be given the best care and attention, and rightly so."
Janus's tracking and searching has led to the arrest of 285 crime suspects since 2008 – when Pc Thomas was first paired with him – while he has also assisted in a further 157 captures.
Around 60 criminals have needed hospital treatment for bite injuries – the price they have to pay for trying to flee or refusing to comply with instructions.
And his recovered property haul includes weapons such as knives and screwdrivers, clothing, gloves and balaclavas, lots of stolen items and cash.
Pc Thomas said his new four-legged crimefighter, police dog Zane, who graduated from the force's own breed and training scheme, has a tough act to follow.
