Military dogs from Rutland capture hearts during army training exercises in Jordan
Lucy and Ace are proving popular with the locals
Two military dogs based in Rutland on a training mission in the Middle East are proving popular with the local community.
Springer spaniel Ace and Belgian malinois Lucy have traded their lives in England with the rough terrain of Jordan whilst training to be sniffer dogs.
However, despite focusing on the task of sniffing out weapons and catching criminals, the two dogs have gathered a fan community in their base near the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Both dogs are part of the 1 Military Working Dog Regiment which is based at St George's Barracks in North Luffenham in the East Midlands.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, the dogs' owners have noticed that the dogs have provided a real boost to the morale of troops stationed at the base.
Lucy's handler, Private Jamie Agnew, aged 24, from Arbroath, said she enjoys the attention but can switch to a much less cuddly side.
"Everyone loves to come over and make a fuss of her which she laps up," he said.
"When I got Lucy she was already up to a good standard, she has been in Kenya but this is her first time in Jordan,
"We don't normally do this sort of training so it's good to see where her flaws are and what we need to work on but she's doing very well," he added.
Similarly, Ace's handler - Manchester based Private Molly Shaw, aged 23, said the exercises have helped to show the dogs' versatility.
This is my second search dog, but I've been paired with him longer, he's cheeky but he's lovely. Every dog has a different character," Private Shaw said.
"He can get deployed anywhere, UK ops or anywhere in the world on exercise such as Kenya, Jordan and Cyprus.
"This has been a brilliant exercise, spending four weeks away with my dog, doing loads of training, working with the Rifles and different detachments. Everyone loves him. He's got a lot of admirers."
The dogs will have careers between six and eight years long and could be deployed to other potentially dangerous environments.