Police dog wins crimefighting duo award with handler

A police dog who began life as a "skinny stray" before joining the force and helping with more than 100 arrests has won an award from a national dog welfare charity.

Boss, a four-year-old German shepherd, has been honoured alongside his handler PC Daniel Carter, 32, from Medway in Kent, with the Crimefighting Duo Award from the Thin Blue Paw Foundation.

Boss, who has now retired from duties due to arthritis, was picked up by a dog warden in Norfolk in 2023 before joining Kent Police, where then-rookie dog handler Carter was starting his initial training.

Carter said: "I never truly understood what it felt like to love an animal. He changed that completely."

The charity said the award the pair won recognises a handler and dog who have shown commitment, dedication and hard work to achieve consistent results and help keep their communities and colleagues safe.

They join others receiving awards from across England, including a former West Midlands Police dog who was forced into retirement through injury.

During a three-year career, Boss was deployed to complete about seven "bites" and passed his firearms support dog training.

Carter said Boss came into his life as a stray dog who had been abandoned.

"He was skinny, neglected, and his ears were filthy. I spent weeks cleaning them, earning his trust one day at a time," he added.

"Neither of us could have imagined where that journey would lead."

The pair are no strangers to awards, having received three policing awards for their role in responses.

Their deployments have included tracking through difficult terrain to successfully locate a vulnerable man and bringing down a criminal gang who had been carrying out burglaries across Kent.

The duo also received a divisional commander's award for an incident they assisted with while off-duty in September 2025.

The founder of Thin Blue Paw Foundation, Kieran Stanbridge, said Boss was a "real rags to riches story".

Stanbridge said the charity would be there for Boss and his family during his retirement should they need support.

Boss is now living in Carmarthenshire, Wales, with Carter's parents, who have adopted him, while the officer has a new police dog, called Dara.

Carter said: "When you do this job, you don't expect any thanks, but deep-down, getting that thanks and recognition is really nice.

"From those humble beginnings, we formed a bond that never wavered. We protected each other until our very last shift together.

"I trusted him with my life, and I know he trusted me with his."

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