AN ADORABLE new recruit has joined Wiltshire Police.

German Shepherd Stan has just finished 13 weeks of training and been awarded his licence - proving he is safe and controlled in his role.

The excited and determined 17-month-old pup came from the Devon and Cornwall Puppy Scheme and is now ready to work around the county with his capable handler PC Leanne Kavanagh.

PC Kavanagh said: “He had been living with a puppy walker, a lovely family. He’s been out to the beach and to festivals, he’s been very well socialised.

“Stan is very driven to work. He’s a really nice and balanced dog.

“When we go out in the morning and I lift the lid of the dog van, he knows he’s going to work.

“He’s crying to get in because he loves it. It’s all games to him, it’s all fun. I feel like I've won the dog lottery with him."

Swindon Advertiser: PC Leanne Kavanagh and PD Stan receiving their certificate from Paul Glennon.PC Leanne Kavanagh and PD Stan receiving their certificate from Paul Glennon. (Image: Wiltshire Police)

General purpose police dogs like PD Stan are used for several things in the Wiltshire force, including tracking and searching for offenders or missing people, searching for property discarded by offenders, and keeping public order at football matches or throughout the night-time economy.

Paul Glennon is the canine development officer for Devon and Cornwall Police.

He presented Leanne and Stan with their certificate and watched Stan perform some criminal-catching work.

Mr Glennon said: “We brought him in to our puppy programme with his two brothers at eight weeks old.

“They were immediately allocated to families who raised them and came to see me every two weeks for training. When they get to the age they are now, around 18 months old, they are ready to be allocated to police dog handlers.

“I like them to go to a force where they can go directly to a handler and they’re supervised. I know Wiltshire look after their dogs.

“I’ve been up already sort of mid-point to see how he was doing and I was really pleased with that. Today, the icing on the cake was seeing him completing all those tasks that he has done.

“I always try to find out how they -our pups- are doing, mainly for the puppy walkers. The families that they started out with, they need to know how they’re doing.

“It’s almost like one of their children have gone off to university.”