Canine Crimebusters
The Story Of Taz, Zippy and the UK's Amazing Police Dogs
Published on 31. July 2025
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-1-917439-19-0 (ISBN)
Description
Canine Crimebusters delves into the history and heroism of UK police dogs, exploring their evolution, highlighting amazing canines, and celebrating their bond with handlers.
This book follows the heroic and touching tales of dogs on the frontline of crime prevention.
The first truly recognised police dog section in the UK was out of the Met, based at Imber Court, Esher, and the star dog was PD Rex, handled by PC Arthur Holman. Rex was responsible for 120 arrests, the first drug sniffer dog in the UK, the first to work for the Flying Squad, and won numerous awards before his death from cancer at just seven. He also had a book by Holman about him, and a film made of his career (Police Dog, 1955).
His success led to the establishment of the dog section at Keston which is still in operation. He is the star and the root of the story, but from there readers will be taken through the awe-inspiring tales of a series of individual dogs, and their police handlers, right up to today.
The book also reveals how they are trained and have been used over the decades, and also highlight the heroic dogs that have foiled terrorists, found killers, and won valour awards in Rex's pawprints.
Through thrilling and heartwarming stories, readers will see how these dogs have thwarted terrorists, caught killers, and protected the public, with an appendix guiding readers to the K9 memorial site and relevant organisations for further engagement.
This book follows the heroic and touching tales of dogs on the frontline of crime prevention.
The first truly recognised police dog section in the UK was out of the Met, based at Imber Court, Esher, and the star dog was PD Rex, handled by PC Arthur Holman. Rex was responsible for 120 arrests, the first drug sniffer dog in the UK, the first to work for the Flying Squad, and won numerous awards before his death from cancer at just seven. He also had a book by Holman about him, and a film made of his career (Police Dog, 1955).
His success led to the establishment of the dog section at Keston which is still in operation. He is the star and the root of the story, but from there readers will be taken through the awe-inspiring tales of a series of individual dogs, and their police handlers, right up to today.
The book also reveals how they are trained and have been used over the decades, and also highlight the heroic dogs that have foiled terrorists, found killers, and won valour awards in Rex's pawprints.
Through thrilling and heartwarming stories, readers will see how these dogs have thwarted terrorists, caught killers, and protected the public, with an appendix guiding readers to the K9 memorial site and relevant organisations for further engagement.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Reach plc
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 143 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
332 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-917439-19-0 (9781917439190)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Starting at Central Press Features in Fleet Street, Andy Boot went on to freelance for Record Collector, Kerrang!, Punch, Prediction, Paperback Fanatic, and Fiesta. He has published five non-fiction books including Psychic Murder Hunters (Headline 1994) and a move to contemporary crime with Dream Detective (with and about Chris Robinson, Little Brown 1996). He has also worked as a ghost writer for Gotham Ghostwriters and Story Terrace, as a development writer for scripted projects at Audible, and on TV documentary and unscripted projects for Two Halves, Hungry Bear, Back2Back, Woodcut, and North One.