Springer spaniels rescued from squalor now serve in Greater Manchester Police dog unit
A selection of dogs found in a South Yorkshire property have been trained and deployed as part of an expanded tactical dog unit that police say has helped raise arrest rates by a third
Several springer spaniels that were rescued from a filthy house in South Yorkshire are now working with Greater Manchester Police after being trained for deployment with the force's Tactical Dog Unit.
Seventy-eight springer spaniels were discovered in April living in squalid conditions in a property in Tickhill, Doncaster, and were rescued by the RSPCA. A select number of those animals have since been trained and integrated into the police dog unit as the force expanded its coverage.
Greater Manchester Police said the expansion has increased the availability of dogs and handlers around the clock, allowing extra teams to operate on night shifts when demand for their skills is highest. Supt. Paul Walker said the additional handlers mean dogs are “ready, available and nearby” to help local teams prevent and detect crime.
The force said the unit has been central to recent policing activity since July, assisting with arrests in burglary and robbery investigations and in cases involving serious sexual offences. Officers credited the dogs with locating a concealed firearm in a bush in Oldham, recovering more than a dozen weapons including guns and knives, and finding stolen property such as a watch worth about £10,000. In one incident, police said a suspect attempted to hide from a dog by climbing into a bin.
Arrests linked to the unit have risen, the force said. Arrests have reached 43 a month, an increase of about a third compared with 2024's average of roughly one a day, or about 374 across the year, the force provided.
Handlers and dogs must complete rigorous training and annual assessments to qualify. Training includes bonding time between handler and dog, exercises in controlled bite work where a dog locks onto a padded sleeve to replicate real-life scenarios, and commands to release and to cease engagement when a person surrenders. Teams considered experienced can also be trained to carry out building searches for suspects believed to be armed.
It has not been disclosed how many of the trained dogs came from the Tickhill property. The RSPCA removed the animals from the house in April and their subsequent rehoming and training have been carried out in coordination with animal welfare and policing authorities, the force said.
Supt. Walker said the Tactical Dog Unit operates 24 hours a day and supports local policing teams across Greater Manchester. The force added that all dogs and handlers are trained to national standards and reassessed regularly to ensure fitness for operational duties.
Greater Manchester Police described the use of dogs as a key part of everyday policing, assisting searches for suspects, evidence and illicit items, and helping to bring offenders to justice while maintaining safeguards for public safety and animal welfare.
