Meet Wiltshire's newest 'paw-lice' officer!
Three-year-old Texa is the newest police dog to join the force
There's a new dog on beat across Wiltshire!
PD Texa is the latest dog to have just passed her license and will be helping officers fight crime in the county.
Her handler, PC Vicki Pegrum, who has been a police officer for 18 years, says the bond between them was instant.
"The minute I met Texa the bond was there. She wants to work with me, I want to work with her, she’s responsive to me, and she’s going to be great out there because she’s level-headed."
PC Pegrum and Texa have been trained by PC Cindy Hargreave as part of her first course as an instructor, at Wiltshire Police.
Once an officer and a dog have been paired up, PC Hargreave asks her students for a list of qualities that they would wish for in a police dog, and then she gives it to the dog handler at the end of the 13-week course to see it rang true.
On this occasion PC Pegrum reflected that Texa ticked all her boxes.
She says becoming a police dog handler is a bit like welcoming a new family member.
"Being a dog handler can massively affect your home life, you have to have the dog at home with you, on your rest days you have to deal with the dog.
"You have to really be in a position and want to do this."
Reflecting on the pairing, PC Hargreave who was responsible for their training said:
“My instructor did this for me and gave it to me after Tyke (my long serving police dog) retired and it served as a reminder of the exceptional journey that dogs and their handlers go through during their careers.
"I wanted to make this part of the licence celebration for my students.”