Meet Lucy and Jaeger - two of the force's dogs who will be helping to keep us safe this Christmas

Meet Lucy and Jaeger – just two of Merseyside Police’s dogs who will be helping to keep you safe over the Christmas period as part of Operation Shepherd.

Operation Shepherd is a comprehensive campaign involving numerous teams to tackle crime across Merseyside during December.

Merseyside Police’s dog section has 47 dogs - general working dogs, rummage dogs, explosive dogs, firearms support dogs and body recovery dogs, and all will be working this Christmas period in their various roles across our region.

Only last week, Lucy, a nine-year-old Labrador rummage dog, was part of a search operation on a property. After the officers had searched the property, Lucy went in and recovered a large stash of drugs hidden under a piece of furniture in the property. This is just one example of the effort to prevent serious and organised crime.

German Shepherd Jaeger, is only 22 months old and has only newly qualified as a general police dog. Along with her handler she recently followed a man who was suspected of stealing a car. The man ran from the car, and when the officers couldn't’t find him, Jaeger was deployed. After a short search she managed to locate the man who was hidden in some bushes outside a hotel in the city centre.

Sergeant Colin Dyer, Merseyside Police Dog Section said: "Our police dogs play an important role in keeping our communities safe and in helping to track and arrest offenders.

"Our dogs work alongside their handlers in both covert and highly visible policing roles, as part of the work we do to keep businesses and residents safe.

“We want you all to enjoy the Christmas period safely and our dogs will continue to work as part of the collective effort to prevent serious and organised crime, as well as offences such as burglary and robbery across Merseyside.”

Charity Calendars - The dog section has joined up with Million Makers to create some charity calendars, featuring some of our police dogs. Calendars cost £7.50 each and can be ordered by emailing your name and address to [email protected] - we will then send out the link to the Just Giving page with a unique reference number.