These cute puppies are being put through their paces at Sherwood Lodge in Arnold to become good police dogs for Nottinghamshire Police.
PD Flak and PD Bart are the latest members of the force and are named after the dogs of two late police officers.
The families of the two late police dog handlers were invited to the police headquarters to meet the new recruits.
PD Flak is the namesake of a dog handled by PC Brian Hagen, who was with the force for 12 years during the 1970s and 1980s. The family of PC Hagen, who passed away in 2017, also had the chance to meet the new PD Flak.
PD Bart has been named in honour of the dog handled by PC Ged Walker, who was fatally injured in 2003 while trying to stop a stolen taxi, and his widow Tracy Walker visited the dog section to see him undergoing his training.
The two Dutch Herders are the latest additions to Nottinghamshire Police’s dog section, as part of a recent drive by the force to boost its ranks.
Gilly Hagen, the widow of PC Hagen, said: “Flak was a very special dog to our family and getting the opportunity to name one of the new recruits after him brings back some wonderful memories.
“Brian never had a pet other than his police dogs, and working within the dog section meant the world to him, it was his life.
“Flak was a great police dog. He was completely focused when on the job, a great tracker and was great with commands, even after his career. He once heard the command to detain whilst I was hanging the washing and I ended up pinned to the fence!
“I’m excited to see where the modern day Flak goes in his career and I hope the namesake serves him well.”
Mrs Walker was at Force Headquarters to meet Bart and said: “Ged had a great bond with his dogs and it’s lovely to have a dog named after Bart.
“We always liked the name as Ged was a huge fan of The Simpsons and he named him after the character of Bart in the show.
“I hope the new Bart has a successful career.”
Inspector Graham Clarke of Nottinghamshire Police’s dog section said: “Working in the dog section, there are special partnerships and bonds that form between the dogs and their handlers.
“Not only do they work together, but the dogs also live at the handlers’ homes and their families very often also get to know the dogs too.
“It was important for us to approach Tracy and Gilly for name suggestions and both Bart and Flak’s namesakes were brilliant dogs who were so important to not only Ged and Brian, but to the whole family.
“We hope that this will serve them well in their future training and work as a police dog.”
