Alex Trelinski
A DOG that can sniff a human body from over 100 metres away has been awarded a medal of honour by the Policia Nacional after his involvement in in some Spain’s major cases.
Scottex the labrador celebrates his sixth birthday on November 1 and has been a member of the Policia Nacional’s Canine Guide Unit for four years.
He received the medal in Sevilla on Wednesday- on Police Day- accompanied by his handler, Manuel Cortes.
READ MORE:
- WATCH: Police dogs help smash cocaine and meth gang operating in Spain’s Mallorca
- Heroic police dog pounces on gunman to end armed siege in Spain’s Murcia
- Police dog sniffs out hash in tyres of luxury Merc going from Spain’s Ceuta to Algeciras
His police record says he has shown ‘an excellent ability to find bodies in any scenario: searches in large areas, buried human remains, collapsed structures and in the aquatic environment’.
The resume continues: “He is a self-confident dog, with an enormous capacity for concentration and endurance and tolerates long mountain walks which makes him very useful dog in searching for missing people.”
The Scottex record includes him playing a key role in finding the body of a 21-year-old man, Pablo Sierra, who disappeared in Badajoz in December 2021 after leaving a nightclub.
Clues pointed to him falling into the Guardiana River with Scottex and his handler scoured the river in a boat for days until he found and barked to mark the exact spot where Pablo’s body had sunk.
The doggy officer’s expertise was essential on large surface of murky water where police divers could not work with sufficient visibility.
Last year, he located two Madrid children that had travelled to Toledo and suffocated in a waste container.
In June, Scottex located a Madrid man that had been missing for two years and his body had been dumped into a two-metre deep sceptic tank that was buried under cement and bricks in a kitchen.
Scottex lives at the headquarters of the Canine Guide Unit, in the Casa de Campo area of Madrid, with his four-legged companions.
His handler, Manuel Cortes, however plans to take him home soon to integrate him into his family.
“The bond we have with our dogs is very strong and it transcends the professional,” he said.
