Seven year old Labrador Tyke, who was handed into Battersea Dogs & Cats Home when he was just one year old has become a canine hero, collecting an ITV Animal Honours Award in recognition of his new role, defending the country’s borders.
Tyke beat stiff competition to win the “In the Line of Duty” award which recognises his outstanding contribution to the UK Border Force and collected his accolade at a glittering London ceremony hosted by Battersea Ambassador Paul O’ Grady on 11 April. Television viewers will be able to see how Tyke went from Battersea kennels to becoming one of the country’s top service dogs, now working at Heathrow Airport when the new ITV Animal Honours awards are broadcast at 8pm on Thursday 18 April.
Centre Manager at Battersea Old Windsor, Kaye Mughal still remembers when Tyke came in six years ago because his owners could no longer afford the time to care for him. She knew straight away Tyke would be well suited for a service home and it wasn’t long before he was snapped up for his new role.
Kaye said: “When he first came to us Tyke was destructive and chewing a lot – far too much energy for a pet home. But I saw he had that sparkle in his eye and I knew he’d have a good strong nose. I called the Heathrow team to come and assess him.”
“The main check we do with dogs like Tyke is with a tennis ball. We hide the ball and if he seeks it out every time we know he’ll be obsessed and motivated enough to learn the detection trade. Airports are busy, stressful environments for working dogs. They are typically very noisy places with lots of distractions so it’s important for the dog to be single minded. He was so keen and concentrated – he went straight for the ball each time.
“A couple of weeks later he was embarking on his new career with the UK Border Force at Heathrow.”
Tyke is now trained to find products of animal origin, including meat, fish, dairy and endangered wildlife products such as elephant ivory, snakes, tortoise and turtles. In addition Tyke is also trained to find tobacco and cigarettes.
Tyke’s handler at UK Border Force Dog Unit, Sam O’Connor, said: “Tyke is a brilliant partner to work with, no matter what time of day, he’s always keen and eager to go to work and help Border Force officers stop more banned or harmful goods from entering the UK.”
His role is incredibly important, as these products could pose a real health risk if it got into the UK food chain. He is one of the team’s most successful detector dogs in this area and last year alone found 3,391 kilos of animal products of animal origin, 3,964 kilos of Tobacco products and 336,980 cigarettes.
Tyke is just one of many Battersea dogs that have gone on to make a huge contribution to our Services. Former Battersea dogs have guarded nuclear submarines, helped find missing elderly people, and even worked alongside soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last year the charity placed more than 20 Battersea dogs in service homes where their drive and intelligence means they can be trained to exceptionally high standards.
Sam added: “I am so proud of him for winning this award, he thoroughly deserves it after all his years of service and it was a great evening meeting other nominees and handlers.”
View a film of Tyke in action at Heathrow Airport: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh5MY9nY8QU&feature=youtu.be