Did Eddie and Keela work as a team prior to the Madeleine McCann case?

[ferryman]

I'm still trying to track down where, before PdL, Eddie and Keela worked together on the same case.

The Abigale Witchell case (which Keela was engaged on) wouldn't have involved Eddie because it wasn't a murder enquiry.

But certainly an FOI answer I believe Carana has makes reference to Eddie being deployed, alone with Grime, OR with another dog Frankie AND another handler

By Karen McVeigh

HER detective work is unsurpassed, her dedication to duty during some of Britain’s most challenging murder cases unfailing. Keela, a 16-month-old springer spaniel, has become such an asset to South Yorkshire Police that she now earns more than the chief constable. Her sense of smell, so keen that she can sniff traces of blood on weapons that have been scrubbed after attacks, has her so much in demand by forces up and down the country that she is hired out at £530 a day, plus expenses. Thought to be the only one of her kind, the crime scenes dog earns nearly £200,000 a year. Her daily rate, ten times that of ordinary police dogs, puts her on more than the chief constable, Meredydd Hughes, who picks up £129,963. Keela’s considerable talent in uncovering minute pieces of evidence that can later be confirmed by forensic tests has put her in the forefront of detective work across Britain. She was drafted in to help after the stabbing of the young mother, Abigail Witchalls, in Surrey, and has been involved in high- profile cases across 17 forces, from Devon and Cornwall to Strathclyde. She has already helped to apprehend a murderer after sniffing out blood on a knife. PC John Ellis, her handler, said that police sent for Keela when the scenes of crime squad failed to find what they were looking for. “She can detect minute quantities of blood that cannot be seen with the human eye,” he said. “She is used at scenes where someone has tried to clean it up. If blood has seeped into the tiles behind a bath where a body has been, she can find it.” The spaniel can sniff out blood in clothes after they have been washed repeatedly in biological washing powder, and can detect microscopic amounts on weapons that have been scrubbed and washed. When faced with a “clean” crime scene, Mr Ellis and PC Martin Grimes, Keela’s other handler, will first send in Frankie, a border collie, and Eddie, another springer spaniel, to pick up any general scent. Then they wheel in the big gun. “We take Keela in and she will find the minutest traces of blood,” Mr Ellis said. “It’s not like looking for a needle in a haystack any more. The other two dogs will find the haystack and Keela will find the needle.” While the other dogs bark, Keela has been trained to freeze and pinpoint the area with her nose. Mr Ellis said Keela’s “perfect temperament” and enthusiasm made her a great asset. “We thought we would get one or two deployments a year, but things have just snowballed. Obviously when we are called in by other forces they are charged a fee and it’s quite funny to think she can earn more than the chief constable.” Mr Hughes showed there were no hard feelings. The chief constable said: “Keela’s training gives the force an edge when it comes to forensic investigation which we should recognise and use more often.” Mr Ellis and Mr Grimes came up with a special training regime to focus on Keela’s remarkable skills. It has proved so successful that the FBI has inquired about it. “The FBI is very interested in how we work because they don’t have this sort of facility in-house and they are looking at setting up their own unit,” Mr Ellis said. Paul Ruffell, of K9 Solutions, a security firm specialising in dog units, said he was amazed at Keela’s abilities. “I’ve been working in this business for 25 years and I’ve never heard anything like it,” he said. - See more at: http://dogsdontlie.com/main/2005/12/on-scent-of-success-sniffer-dog-keela-earns-more-than-her-chief-constable/#sthash.Ob511FIb.dpuf

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[Carana]

Mr Ellis and PC Martin Grimes, Keela’s other handler, will first send in Frankie, a border collie, and Eddie, another springer spaniel, to pick up any general scent. Then they wheel in the big gun. “We take Keela in and she will find the minutest traces of blood,” Mr Ellis said. “It’s not like looking for a needle in a haystack any more. The other two dogs will find the haystack and Keela will find the needle.”

Keela was the "big gun", not Eddie or Frankie.

However accurate she may be, the purpoe was to find tiny traces of blood that could be sent for DNA analysis in case it could be relevant to a crime.

In the PDL searches, nothing of significance was found.

That should have been the end of it: nothing of significance, next case please.

[Mr Gray]

Mr Ellis and PC Martin Grimes, Keela’s other handler, will first send in Frankie, a border collie, and Eddie, another springer spaniel, to pick up any general scent. Then they wheel in the big gun. “We take Keela in and she will find the minutest traces of blood,” Mr Ellis said. “It’s not like looking for a needle in a haystack any more. The other two dogs will find the haystack and Keela will find the needle.”

Keela was the "big gun", not Eddie or Frankie.

However accurate she may be, the purpoe was to find tiny traces of blood that could be sent for DNA analysis in case it could be relevant to a crime.

In the PDL searches, nothing of significance was found.

That should have been the end of it: nothing of significance, next case please.

It is the end of it in the real world....the sceptics don't understand what the alerts mean

[ferryman]

Mr Ellis and PC Martin Grimes, Keela’s other handler, will first send in Frankie, a border collie, and Eddie, another springer spaniel, to pick up any general scent. Then they wheel in the big gun. “We take Keela in and she will find the minutest traces of blood,” Mr Ellis said. “It’s not like looking for a needle in a haystack any more. The other two dogs will find the haystack and Keela will find the needle.”

Keela was the "big gun", not Eddie or Frankie.

However accurate she may be, the purpoe was to find tiny traces of blood that could be sent for DNA analysis in case it could be relevant to a crime.

In the PDL searches, nothing of significance was found.

That should have been the end of it: nothing of significance, next case please.

Indeed.

Still can't find a reference to where (before PdL) Eddie and Keela were used together.

Keela was much the younger dog, aged 3 in 2007, I think ....

[mercury]

I'm still trying to track down where, before PdL, Eddie and Keela worked together on the same case.

Why?

[ferryman]

Why?

Why would SYP, for the first time, have deployed Eddie and Keela together in PdL?

[mercury]

Why would SYP, for the first time, have deployed Eddie and Keela together in PdL?

Thats just an (wrong btw) assumption on your part, the question is why does it matter? Whether true or not

[Mr Gray]

Am I right in thinking that cadaver dogs now are trained only to cadaver and not to blood

[mercury]

Am I right in thinking that cadaver dogs now are trained only to cadaver and not to blood

I don't know, are you? a cite/link might be useful, not that you ever do them but it might help

[pegasus]

Here's a photo which (assuming you are observant?) indicates that Eddie and Keela worked together elsewhere.
Not sure if this is before PDL or after - John might know.
http://i.imgur.com/vldy8zT.jpg?1-EVRD-Eddie-UK_Justice_Forum

[ferryman]

Am I right in thinking that cadaver dogs now are trained only to cadaver and not to blood

Only in the US forensic canine program, where a cadaver dog and a dog trained to find only blood are teamed up.

[misty]

Here's a photo which (assuming you are observant?) indicates that Eddie and Keela worked together elsewhere.
Not sure if this is before PDL or after - John might know.
http://i.imgur.com/vldy8zT.jpg?1-EVRD-Eddie-UK_Justice_Forum

The name on the jacket is the name of the outdoor clothing apparel company Keela  International.http://www.keela.co.uk/catalog/product/view/id/2494/s/high-visibility-dog-coat/category/38/

[ferryman]

Thats just an (wrong btw) assumption on your part, the question is why does it matter? Whether true or not

The first deployment for the two dogs as a pair and the last deployment (for either dog) under the auspices of SYP?

Doesn't quite sound right, somehow  ....

[Mr Gray]

Only in the US forensic canine program, where a cadaver dog and a dog trained to find only blood are teamed up.

do any other authorities use a blood and a cadaver/blood dog together...it seems unnecessarily complicated

[Carana]

Am I right in thinking that cadaver dogs now are trained only to cadaver and not to blood

AFAIK, there doesn't seem to be any universal agreement on dog training in the UK, let alone elsewhere:



In the UK there are approximately 70 VR or cadaver dogs, mostly used by police forces, although organisations such as search and rescue teams also have them.  There is not a very widespread awareness of the VR dogs and their work, says Lorna, although they have been used for many years.

“They are mostly used for human remains detection, not just in murder cases but for suicides too.  For example, if somebody has been hit by a train, the dogs are used to locate body parts.  They have also been used after incidents such as the 7/7 bombings.

“They can also be used for blood detection, if there has been an assault for example, and in Lancashire they train their dogs to identify semen as well, so they can be used in sexual assault cases,” said Lorna.
https://www.hud.ac.uk/news/2014/august/forensicsresearchtomakecadaverdogsmoreefficient.php