Dog – British Transport Police History Group

K9 Memorial UK

News that after the passing of retired Police Dog Bobby (08/07/2009 – 26/04/2021), he has been added to the K9 Memorial UK Tribute Wall page.

Bobby’s handler PC Beal said :

“Bobby served the British Transport police dog section with dedication and distinction, working through the London Olympics, countless operations, high profile searches and major incidents including the aftermath of the Manchester bombing and the London Bridge attack.

Bobby was awarded the PDSA Order of Merit medal for his courage in the most harrowing of conditions for the London Bridge attack.

Bobby also served on the Birmingham CT Hub and the Manchester CT Hub until he retired in Nov 2018 .

Bobby was a credit to the British Transport police dog section and is much missed by us and leaves an unfillable void in our family”.

Other BTP dogs are remembered on the Roll of Honour.

K9 Memorial UK is the official campaign to raise funds for K9 memorial and roll of honour, in memory of our brave police dogs. It is a registered charity.

Also see:

The Railway Dogs Benevolent Fund

Police Dogs

Police Dogs Gallery

The Railway Dogs Benevolent Fund

The Railway Dogs Benevolent Fund was launched recently and we have now added their website to our links page.

“For over 100 years, police dogs have served alongside officers to protect the public. Years spent chasing criminals, detecting drugs and searching for explosive devices can lead to these brave animals experiencing costly medical conditions in retirement.

The Railway Dogs Benevolent Fund was established to support dogs who have completed their service with British Transport Police (BTP).

The Fund provides grants towards the cost of their care, including ongoing medical treatment, so these loyal and hardworking animals can enjoy a long and happy retirement.”

You can also follow them on Twitter at @RailwayDogsFund

Police Dog Rufus (Retd)

Deputy Chief Constable Adrian Hanstock today presented Police Dog Rufus with his certificate of service.

The DCC said “Sometimes there are simple but great moments in this job. What a pleasure to present a certificate of service to PD Rufus who retired from @BTPDogs in 2013 after 5 years service. PD Rufus was an exceptional narcotics & substance detection dog. Thanks for your service.”

(Story via Twitter @BTPDeputy)

Also see the Police Dogs page, and the Police Dogs Photo Gallery.

National Dog Day 2017

Okay, so now we’ve got your attention with a couple of cute puppy photos, if you were not aware tomorrow (Saturday 26th August 2017) is National Dog Day.

Time to remember that the railway police recruited their first officially trained police dogs well over 100 years ago, and they still remain a vital part of the policing family today.

You will find various references to them on this website – just put ‘police dog’ in the search box (above right).

And we have a photo gallery dedicated them here – Police Dogs!

You will also find an article on the BTP website on the Dog Section and if you are on Twitter the BTP Dog Section have their own account – @BTPDogs.

UPDATE: September 2017
Elvis is growing!

Elvis and friend.

History of the BTP Dog Section

New member Mick Kinirey has taken on the job of building on Kevin Gordons excellent work on the origins of BTP police dogs. He will be bringing the story up to date and finding out all those unlikely tales. The photos here are of Pc Alan Beddoe’s dog ‘Major’ who carried out an extraordinary track in the 1980s, and Spud, very much a 21st Century police dog.

It’s a big topic and Mick can do with all the help he can get. Do you have any stories, photos or memorabilia? You can contact Mick through his email on the Projects page of this site or via his address in the NARBTPO Directory.