A retired police dog who started life as an underweight stray wandering the streets has won a national crimefighting award alongside his handler after helping officers make more than 100 arrests. PC Daniel Carter and four-year-old German Shepherd PD Boss were crowned winners of the Crimefighting Duo Award by the Thin Blue Paw Foundation. The pair were nominated by PC Carter’s family and received the award during a ceremony at The Royal Kennel Club in Mayfair, London, on Tuesday, 29 September. Boss’s policing career began after he was discovered underweight and unkempt while wandering alone in Norfolk in 2023. Nobody came forward to claim him, but his personality and drive led to him being assessed as a potential police dog.

‘The best decision I ever made’

Boss was initially expected to act as the spare dog during PC Carter’s training course. His abilities soon became apparent. PC Carter said: “After he was found, nobody came forward to claim him and due to his high drive and personality, he was put forward as a potential police dog. “He was earmarked to be the spare dog for my initial course, but he immediately showed how good he was and I ended up swapping dogs at week 7. It was the best decision I ever made!” Boss went on to assist in more than 100 arrests, tracking and apprehending numerous suspects during his career. He also qualified as a Firearms Support Dog after completing an intensive three-week course testing his control and search abilities.

Police dog helped find suicidal man

Boss’s work extended beyond tracking criminal suspects. During one operation, he tracked across different terrain before successfully locating a suicidal man at the top of a steep ravine. PC Carter said Boss repeatedly demonstrated his ability to find suspects, search for property and help locate vulnerable people. He said: “The adrenaline you feel when you’re running through the darkness at 2am, trusting your dog is taking you the right way and then suddenly finding someone hiding – there is simply no better feeling. “One of the best things about being a police dog handler is having your best mate by your side day in day out and trusting each other, keeping each other safe and having a bond that nobody can break.”

Boss medically retired

Boss’s police career was cut short when he was medically retired in June due to degenerative arthritis. Despite his relatively short operational career, he had established himself as a reliable working police dog while remaining a well-natured family dog away from duty. PC Carter said: “He loved all aspects of the police work and he showed time and time again his ability to find and detain suspects, search for property and assist in locating vulnerable people.” PC Carter has since been assigned another police dog and is training his new partner. Boss, meanwhile, has begun a very different retirement. The former stray now lives with PC Carter’s parents in the Welsh countryside, bringing an award-winning police career that began on the streets of Norfolk to a fitting conclusion.