She can charge ahead of armed officers into pitch-black buildings, swim upstream in the dead of night to flush out a hiding criminal, and track down the smallest pieces of evidence discarded by fleeing suspects.
But police dog Mary, a three-year-old German Shepherd, is just as capable of sneaking past her handler, leaping onto the family sofa, and snaffling a bowl of cereal.
She may show a cheeky side when she is off duty, but once she is on shift as part of Police Scotland’s team, she transforms into one of the country’s most respected operators.
PD Mary is now officially the UK’s most obedient police dog, having secured the title at the National Police Dog Trials in West Yorkshire earlier this year.
“Mary is a pretty easy-going dog,” her handler, PC Niall Gibson, says. “She is sociable with people and other dogs when not in work mode.
“She is not allowed in the house, but she often chances it and runs past when you open the door. Recently she ran past me and joined my wife on the couch, then began to drink the milk out of a bowl of cereal she was sitting enjoying.”
Born in Hungary, Mary joined Police Scotland in 2023, having been acquired by the force for PC Gibson’s dog handling training.
He took her on as a puppy, and says the pair were lucky to have “just clicked” early on. She came with her gentle name already attached, but her performance in the field soon dispels any raised eyebrows.
“I was allowed to change it,” Gibson says. “However, after a few days, I was no further forward and the name remained. I get a mixed reaction. However, her ability as a police dog quickly changes people’s opinions.”
Across Scotland, there are around 140 dogs carrying out vital duties as part of the country’s police force, including tracking, searching buildings, and crowd control at events and disturbances.
PC Niall Gibson
Every day, police dogs detain dangerous offenders, find missing and vulnerable people, and recover vital evidence from crime scenes.
In July, 1919 told how tributes have poured in for PD Eddie, who recently passed away. He counted sniffing out £400,000 worth of drugs in a single shift among his many achievements.
When police are asked to go into a dark building, or a wooded area, a police dog is an invaluable partner.
Mary’s natural drive set her apart early on, and she has also qualified as a firearms support dog. The high-stakes role requires an extraordinary level of control – and trust – at distance.
“We deploy behind firearms officers,” Gibson explains. “The dogs need to be composed enough to push forward past armed officers, understand they are with us, and look for threats within a building or area.
“To know that they are with you when you are entering a building or wooded area yourself, that every dark room or area you pass, someone could come out, and that without hesitation they will defend you if the need arises – you can walk in with a sense of confidence that they are looking after you as much as you are looking after them.
“A lot of people will take their chance against police officers, however not many are brave enough when faced with a dog that they know is capable of biting if needed.”
Mary’s police dog work speaks for itself. On a single night, she sniffed out eight suspects hiding in a building during a house break-in.
Another evening saw her deployed to a break-in at a building yard. When police arrived, two suspects had already fled into the night. Mary picked up the scent, leading Gibson across an open field and down a steep embankment to a river.
She jumped into the water and swam upstream in the dark, finding the suspect clinging to a tree over the water. Her nose was the difference between an arrest and the suspect getting away.
“No officer would have been able to see or access where he was to search properly,” Gibson says with pride. “Without a dog using their nose to find the scent, the male would have evaded capture.”
He describes working as a dog handler as “the best job in the world”, and speaks with genuine admiration for the animals of Police Scotland.
“It’s extremely impressive to watch the dogs work, using their nose alone to track and find someone or something that humans just wouldn’t be able to find, or at least make the find in considerably less time than it would take humans,” he says.
It took him 14 years to achieve his dream, and it is one he appreciates every day. “I have always wanted to be a police dog handler from the start of my service,” he says.
“You get to work with incredible animals, and you get to do what everybody joins the police for, to apprehend criminals and find vulnerable people that are in need of help.”
When the duo travelled to Nostell, West Yorkshire, to represent Police Scotland at the National Police Dog Trials, they went nose to nose with some of the finest teams in the UK.
Dogs are tested on everything from tracking, searching and obedience to dealing with an attack on their handler, emergency recall, and gun attacks.
Mary walked away with the prestigious Stanley Peck trophy, which recognises her as the most obedient police dog in the UK. She also won the Sir James Starritt Trophy for overall third place.
Training a dog to such a high level is a fascinating process, and 1919 went behind the scenes to find out more in 2022.
But how do you go about cultivating this in a high-drive animal? Gibson says the secret doesn’t lie in authority, but in play.
“They are honest, fearless, and committed to the task. They don’t care about paperwork, politics, or what happened earlier in the shift. They will give everything they have for us to deal with the task in hand”
PC Niall Gibson
“She does it because she enjoys the work,” he says. “It’s a big game to her. She enjoys open searches the most.
“The reward for doing work is more work, or playing with her toys. We have fun during training, operational deployments, and in down time.”
A lot of the success comes down to the close bond between the dog and her handler.
“I am the person that feeds Mary, gives her training treats, bonds whilst training, exercising both on and off duty, plays with her,” he explains.
“More importantly, she knows I have a ball that she loves to play with.
“Licensed police dogs can only be walked by their own handler, other licensed dog handlers, or kennel staff. So most of the time she is with me, and everything good comes from me.
“You spend so much time together that you start reading each other’s body language without even thinking about it.”
Mary may love her work, but she has learned to decompress once the harness comes off – although relaxing when off duty took some time for her to master.
She now happily shares the Gibson family home with fellow police dog Rab, and pet German Shepherd, Saul, as well as the couple’s three children.
“Mary is great to work with,” says Gibson. “It’s amazing the impact a police dog can have in a situation, both to de-escalate and also in community engagement.
“They are honest, fearless, and committed to the task. They don’t care about paperwork, politics, or what happened earlier in the shift. They will give everything they have for us to deal with the task in hand.”