Police dog who made 170 arrests 'falls asleep peacefully' in handler's arms after nearly 10 years service

Officer pays tribute to 'one of a kind' service animal

Kane and his handler PC Graham Ashby (Bedfordshire Police )

A “one-of-a-kind” police dog who made over 170 arrests has died “peacefully” in his handlers arms.

Before retiring in January, Kane, a German Shepard, was the oldest serving general purpose dog in the Beds, Cambs and Herts Dog Unit.

He spent nine and a half years with the group.

He worked with his main handler, PC Graham Ashby, for seven and a half years but died on 13 December.

PC Ashby said: “Kane wasn’t in any pain when he passed away and he fell asleep peacefully in my arms. He truly was one of a kind. It was my pleasure and privilege to work and have so much time alongside him.

“He was a dog who wanted to go to work and enjoyed it. At every incident we attended Kane worked exceptionally hard and I will take away many proud memories of the time we had together as a team.

"My family and I will miss him greatly.”

The pair played key roles in numerous operations, including finding missing people, tracking down suspects and policing football matches.

In 2015, Kane successfully tracked four suspected illegal immigrants through rivers and dense undergrowth, gaining significant attention in local media.

Kane and PC Ashby also won trial competitions between different police forces.