Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.
Miguel is a handler in the National Police’s Special Canine Guides Unit in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where he works with Rony, a springer spaniel just under five years old whom the force has singled out for special recognition for two searches that located deceased people in the Canary Islands, although he also played his part in the DANA emergency in Valencia.
“Behind every search there are families waiting for news of their loved ones, and we are fully aware of the responsibility we carry,” stresses Miguel, who admits the recognition “brings enormous satisfaction” because behind these operations “lie many hours of training, preparation and dedication”, as well as the work of the various officers and units involved in the searches for which Rony is being honoured. Rony specialises in detecting narcotics and in the search for and location of human remains (known by the Spanish acronym REHU).
Two searches in under a month
Rony, with whom Miguel has worked since the dog was barely three and a half months old, was honoured at the central event marking Police Day on the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels, patrons of the National Police, held in San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Gran Canaria. The ceremony was presided over by the Spanish government’s delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, and the National Police’s senior chief in the Canary Islands, Jesús María Gómez.
It was at this event that Rony received the Honorary Mention for Outstanding Service for his part in two searches that located deceased people. One of these operations took place in the Benijo area, in Anaga, Tenerife, and the other near the Sima de Jinámar in Gran Canaria. Both interventions took place within less than a month of each other and, as his handler points out, were carried out in “especially difficult” terrain that demanded a “significant effort, both physical and in terms of concentration”.
A bond that makes the difference
Miguel was keen to stress that the “most important” thing was knowing that his work alongside Rony, his companion and friend, “has helped to locate two missing people and to give their families an answer”. This, he says, comes down to the bond and understanding they share, which he insists are “fundamental” when they have to tackle a difficult operation.
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