Puppy walkers wanted for future West Midlands Police dogs

This stunning spaniel litter could become West Midlands Police’s specialist search dogs of the future.

The six-week-old cocker spaniels have been named Harry, Ron, Dobby, Albus, Hermione and Ginny after police ran a Twitter poll earlier this year.

Dog walkers are now being sought to help walk the Harry Potter themed litter.

Two-thousand people responded for them to be named after Harry Potter.

Specialist search hounds – which are used to locate drugs, firearms and explosives – tend to be spaniels.

Meanwhile German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Dutch Herders are mainly used as standard police dogs.

A police spokesman said: "Fully vetted puppy walkers are responsible for homing their puppy, caring for their needs and crucially, helping them to socialise with people and other dogs.

"Anybody over 18 can apply to be a puppy walker, if they have the time to look after the puppy and provide plenty of play time to allow it to develop within a happy, carefree environment.

"At six months old, the puppies go through to the crucial six month assessment stage of their training back at the Dog Unit in Balsall Common to see if they have what it takes to become fully operational, effective police dogs.

"If successful, they return to their puppy walkers for another few months before undergoing the final assessment stage and being assigned to a police handler ready to begin serious training."

Anyone interested in walking the next Spaniel litter should email breedscheme@west-Midlands.pnn.police.uk