Proud Jo's happy farewell to Ruby

A Shaw foster carer of dogs who have found themselves without a forever home has waved a fond farewell to one of her canine companions who has landed on her paws after being adopted by the police to be trained as a sniffer dog.

Nine-month-old English Springer Spaniel Ruby arrived at Dogs Trust Manchester after a change in family circumstances meant she could no longer stay with her owner.

As part of their Home from Home scheme, foster carer Jo Bramall was excited to welcome the pup into her Shaw home while she waited for her forever family to come along.

Jo said: “She was absolutely gorgeous and I was expecting to get a phone call from the team at Dogs Trust Manchester asking me to bring her to meet a new family, but instead it was the police that got in touch.”

Within days of Ruby arriving at the rehoming centre, staff had recognised that she may have the potential to be a working dog – and hundreds of miles away so did police dog handler PC Mark West from Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Dog Unit.

PC West said: “I saw her on the website and there was just something about her.

"Even in the photograph she looked incredibly alert so I immediately called the team and when they spoke to me about her I was pretty confident that she was just what I, and the department, was looking for.”

Detection dogs need to be toy-focused, love to play hide and seek games and must be confident around people.

After travelling almost 200 miles from Luton, within minutes of Jo arriving at the Denton rehoming centre with Ruby, PC West (pictured above) knew she had fantastic potential as she immediately chased her beloved tennis ball and patiently searched for it wherever he had hidden it.

He said: “She was fantastic. Once that ball came out, that was it.

"That focus is exactly what we are looking for and she has continued to impress us now she has started her training.

“She is doing really well and it is looking like she will be fully qualified in September.

"She lives at home with me and when she has completed her training she will be my partner in fighting crime, searching for drugs, cash and firearms.”

Jo added: “I was really proud of her. I cared for her for two weeks and we developed a great bond; she was simply gorgeous.

"She was so playful but also very focused and never happier than when playing fetch. 

"I am confident she will make a great police dog.”

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.