Three new ‘cute and cuddly’ police recruits take a bow

North Yorkshire Police welcomed three new recruits this week – Tyke, Toby and Sam – who have just joined the force’s dog section.

Tyke is a three-month-old German Shepherd and Toby and Sam are 14-week-old Springadors – a cross between a labrador and springer spaniel.

The puppies will join 34 other canine crime-fighters in the force’s dog section, who all perform a vital role in the fight against crime.

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They currently live with North Yorkshire Police dog trainers, who will take care of them for the next 13 months before they begin their specialist training courses.

Tyke is already earmarked to take over the reins as a general purpose police dog and is due to replace seasoned crime-fighter, police dog Troy when he retires in 2013.

Sam and Toby will eventually be trained as specialist detection dogs, trained to sniff out items such as drugs, explosives and weapons.

Sgt Simon Whitby, who heads the force’s dog section, said: ““They are cute, cuddly and bursting with energy at the moment but one day they will be instrumental in protecting our neighbourhoods and keeping the communities of North Yorkshire as safe as possible.”

Tyke was born in South Wales and Toby and Sam were born near Northallerton.