RPD Harper

What are some of the highlights of Harper’s career?

Harper helped to save a man’s life while she was on duty with her handler, PC Lucy Sculthorpe, in summer 2019. The high-risk missing man had been released from a mental health facility and his family raised the alarm after he’d been drinking and disappeared. Harper wouldn’t give up the search and, eventually, picked up his trail, where officers found him hanging from a bridge. They managed to get him urgent medical help and saved his life.

What did retirement look like for Harper?

“Every morning Harper would have five minutes of madness with her boomer ball and last thing at night she’d always come up onto the sofa for chill time before bed.”

What’s your favourite memory with Harper?

“I was only meant to be fostering Harper and the police got in touch to say they had someone interested in adopting her. I had to decide if I was going to keep her, or give her up. I wrote out a message that was heartbreaking to type, listing all of the things she’d need in a potential home and the sort of lifestyle she’d need. I was sobbing as I wrote it and she came up to me, put her paws on my chest and licked away my tears. She’s never been very cuddly and, in that moment, I realised I couldn’t let her go.”

What makes you the most proud of Harper?

In 2020, Harper and her handler were presented with the Police Dog Team Operational and Humanitarian Action of the Year Award at Crufts. Harper also received the K9 Memorial Medal when she retired at the end of 2019.