A puppy who was donated to North Yorkshire Police in memory of York officer, PC Keith Pattison, is now a fully qualified crime-fighter.
North Yorkshire Police have 29 licensed dogs which include 17 general purpose dogs, five explosive sniffer dogs and seven drug detection dogs. The force also has two puppies who are currently being socialised and assessed under the puppy walking scheme.
Police Dog (PD) Patto, a German shepherd, was gifted to the Dog Section at the age of eight weeks. Now, 14 months on, he has qualified to work as a general purpose police dog, trained to sniff out suspects, find missing people and help keep the communities of North Yorkshire safe.
PC Keith Pattison died unexpectedly in January 2013 while a serving police officer with North Yorkshire Police. His family chose to donate a puppy as a way to remember him and ensure his name lived on in the police service.
Sergeant Simon Whitby of North Yorkshire Police’s Dog Section, said: PD Patto is now a fully licensed police dog helping to keep North Yorkshire safe. He has the perfect temperament for a police dog and passed his exams with flying colours.
I would like to reiterate our thanks to Keith’s family for gifting PD Patto to us. He is a fitting tribute to a valued and much missed colleague.
PD Patto met up with members of Keith’s family including his daughter Katie and two-year-old grandson Finley, shortly after he passed his exams.
Katie said: We are delighted that Patto has now passed his exams and is a fully qualified police dog. It’s great to see how he has grown up from being a cute puppy into a strong and highly trained dog.
My dad loved dogs and always wanted to join the Dog Section but sadly never did. Patto is a great reminder of my dad – he would be thrilled to have another crime-fighter named after him.
We’re looking forward to hearing about PD Patto’s policing adventures as he helps to keep us all safe – just as my dad did.
Keith joined North Yorkshire Police in 1990. He spent the majority of his service working in the Selby District as a uniformed constable, supporting the communities of Tadcaster and Selby.
Before he died, Keith worked on the Safer Neighbourhood help desk in the Force Control Room. As a result, the reach of his support to the community stretched across the whole of North Yorkshire and the City of York.
Like PC Pattison, PD Patto will be working for members of the public right across the county and he could be called to help out anywhere from Selby to Great Ayton to Scarborough and Skipton.
PD Patto is licensed with his handler, PC Chris Walker, who is also a police dog trainer and is based at Northallerton.
