Vesper, originally named Venom, a four-year-old Belgian Malinois, was deemed unsuitable to become a police dog.
While she excelled in all other aspects, running at criminals for a cuddle is not the expectation of a police dog!
Niamh Darcy, a dog handler from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, took a chance on Vesper in 2020 when she was 18 months old.
After a 48 hour trial under arduous selection conditions, Vesper performed flawlessly and their bond as a team was solid – and Vesper joined Niamh as her canine search partner.
They went from strength to strength, achieving their qualified status as a search team; an asset available to be mobilized to searches of structural collapse across the UK.
In 2023, Niamh and Vesper were part of the chosen UK International Search and Rescue Team and were deployed by the Government to aid in the rescue mission following the horrific earthquakes in both Turkey and Morocco, where they worked tirelessly to locate survivors.
Vesper quickly became an integral part of this brave and dedicated team, working around the clock, using her nose to locate survivors trapped under the rubble.
