Andy named as ‘Dog Handler of the Year’

10 May 2021

A West Midlands PC named as the Force’s ‘Dog Handler of the Year’ says he will be sharing the award with his four-legged sidekick Vapour.

PC Andy Rudnicki clinched the title after being nominated by his colleagues as a dedicated member of the team.

Having launched his career in the Force back in 2003, Andy joined the dog unit in 2015 and was allocated German shepherd Vapour.

“The bond between officers and their police dogs is so strong but if you think about it there’s no one else who I spend more time with than Vapour. I have a wife and children but I see Vapour all day, we’re together 24/7,” said father-of-two Andy.

“I feel so privileged to be in this role and it’s nice to get rewarded for the work I do but this award is for Vapour too.”

Vapour, who is now six, has been working in the Force since he was just 12-months-old and is a general purpose police dog but is trained to work with the firearms team too.

“Police dogs never cease to surprise me,” added Andy, who has another police dog, a springer spaniel called Rascal, “Sometimes you have to see the work they do, to believe just how good they are. They should never be underestimated.

“You’ll go to a job and think he’ll do what he needs to, then he goes and does something even better.”

Andy recalled Vapour’s first job, which involved a burglary. He says the team disturbed the offenders, with one burglar fleeing the scene.

“Vapour managed to track him in just one-and-a-half hours. He just did it and that was his first job. I knew then that he was something special,” said Andy.

Another highlight of Vapour’s career includes an incident involving a stolen car. Andy says that despite the busy traffic, Vapour managed to retain one of the offenders before helping to catch the second in just four minutes.

“Vapour could’ve easily lost focus, but he didn’t. Despite there being so many distractions, he managed to catch both offenders,” explained Andy.

“He is so switched on. It’s the little things like that, that mean some jobs just wouldn’t be as successful without police dogs. I sometimes refer to them as the magic wand at some jobs, they’re just brilliant.”