First Scots Police Rottweiler Dies Of Cancer

[themaster]

Jan 29 2008 Daily Record

A DOG who became the first rottweiler recruited to the police in Scotland has died of bone cancer.

Mac, who was six, made history when he joined Central Scotland Police after being found as a stray on an industrial estate in Falkirk.

During a four-year career, he was involved in the arrest of 206 criminals and recovered £69,000 in stolen property.

But after Mac started to limp a few weeks ago, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and it was decided to put him down.

Sergeant Cameron Shanks, of the force's dog section, said: "We are all very upset at the loss.

"Mac was a very high-profile dog as he was the only working rottweiler in a Scottish force.

"He had a massive presence and was exceptionally loyal."

Mac was named best dog on his police training course in 2003 and won praise for his temperament.

Handler PC Jonathan Inglis said: "Mac was a fantastic police dog and a great ambassador for the rottweiler breed.

"Together we apprehended hundreds of people, recovered thousands of pounds of stolen property and, more importantly, found a lot of missing persons, in some instances saving lives."

Sergeant Shanks added: "We take great pride in the fact Mac was rescued from the pound and turned into one of the most effective dogs the force has ever had."

[rtwu]

this has made me sad,i had read about mac and used his circumstances for debate.
i enjoyed reading how mac had excelled at police work ,and stating from one officer he had overtaken a lot of the gsd on the force. this made me proud!

[JBarry]

Awesome post. What a super dog! RIP Berry. We love ya.

Peace.

[felicityjay]

How sad... i remember the news reports about Mac being trained but I didn't see the news that he had passed.
It is fantastic that he did such an amazing job and he had such a fulfilling and worthy life! He was a true ambassador for the breed and it made me smile to see that he had been the BEST in his training class.
i have often thought that britain should follow the example of other countries and use Rotts in the police force because, as Mac has shown, many have the perfect temperament for such important work.

[brunie's mom]

This is so sad.
I can see why rotts are not used though. They are slow to mature...so must train for a couple of years...and then die early. Not many police forces can put their money into training dogs and only have them working for 4 years.

It would be great if they could stop this breed from dying of cancer so early.

Gina

[Nishasmom]

There was a news story a couple weeks ago for a cancer vaccine for dogs. Hopefully it will become more widely used, and for all types of cancer :)

Canine cancer vaccine shows early promise (Jan. 26, 2006)