A POLICE dog famed for balancing food on his nose is retiring after a decade of service.
Dutch Herder Krush, who became famous after videos of him balancing six Mini Cheddars on his face went viral, is retiring from Northumbria Police after years of helping to catch burglars, find missing people and protecting handler Wayne Thompson.
His Mini Cheddars video was watched by a quarter-of-a-million people last November and he learned to repeat the trick with a sausage, thick-cut chips and a cup of tea.
Krush, who turned 10 this year, has been with Mr Thompson since he was eight-weeks-old and qualified as a general purpose dog just before his first birthday.
His first arrest as a police dog saw him detain a disqualified driver who had tried to flee after abandoning his vehicle in Washington.
Police dog Krush in his firearms gear
Other notable jobs include him uncovering a rifle buried in deep undergrowth and grabbing on to a burglars ankle as he attempted to leap over a fence.
Krush will now live out his life at Mr Thompson’s home in County Durham along with his other police dog, a specialist search Labrador called Carrie.
Mr Thompson, 50, said: “The balancing stuff just came about because he was with me in the hotel room and we had a bit of down time.
“Once the video went rival we had hotel staff and other handlers challenging us to do loads of things and we couldn’t believe how big it went.
“He’s always been a bit daft, on his first ever job we sent him off to get a burglar and he came back with the neighbours washing in his mouth.
“But there have been that many good jobs that it is hard to remember. He has definitely saved my bacon on a few occasions.
Krush will spend the rest of his life living with his handler, Wayne Thompson, at his home in County Durham
“He is my best mate, he is fun, he is easy going but he can switch it on for work. He is everything you could want in a police dog.
“I don’t think there will be another character like him again and he is going to enjoy life now, have some garden time and hone his balancing skills.”
Krush has also qualified as a highly-trained firearms dog in his time in the force meaning he is sent into buildings ahead of officers when there could be a threat.
Krush has also helped breed dozens of working dogs who have been sent all around the world.
Mr Thompson said: “He has two sons who are working at Northumbria Police and Milo is a specialist firearms officer as well.
“There are dozens more who have all gone off as working dogs, whether that be in the emergency services, military or as private security dogs.
“One of his sons even went over to Bermuda as a private security dog so he has sons, daughters and grand-children working all over the world.
Krush will now live out his life at Mr Thompson’s home in County Durham along with his other police dog, a specialist search Labrador called Carrie.
He will also share a home with trainee drugs dog Jensen and German Shepherds Jeff and Travis who failed to make the grade as police dogs.
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