A former rescue dog is now used at royal events to sniff out explosives.
Roxy the Staffie was present at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral as well as Princess Beatrice’s recent wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
She is apparently the only dog of her breed working as an explosive dog in the UK and also the only Staffie to be working for Hampshire and Thames Valley dog unit.
Her handler PC Carter explained the high-profile role Roxy performs for the royals.
Speaking to the Express, she said: “We work together to search for explosives in lots of circumstances, to make sure VIPs and members of the public are safe.
“Last summer, Roxy and I worked at Windsor Castle ahead of the private wedding of Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and, this month, we secured the local area ahead of Prince Philip’s funeral. I am incredibly proud of her for carrying out such an important job ahead of such large events. Roxy is a superstar. She is intelligent, very systematic and thorough. For her, it is all a big, fun game and she just loves to work. To see her working and know she’s a rescue dog whose life could have been so much different makes me so proud. It is amazing to see her doing her job and loving it.”
The royals haven’t had a good time of it when it comes to dogs lately, after it was revealed last month that Queen Elizabeth’s new dorgi puppy had died.
The 95-year-old monarch was gifted the pooch, named Fergus, when her husband Prince Philip – who died in April at the age of 99 – fell ill and was taken to hospital earlier this year.
And just over a month after the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen was mourning the death of Fergus, after he passed away at just five months old.