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Handler – PC Tony Mayo
PC Tony Mayo loses police dog Wilson to cancer
A renowned crime-fighting dog has lost his fight with cancer, just weeks after retiring from Essex Police. Police dog Wilson was famous within the force for his ability to track down criminals, and was also loved by the public after featuring several times in the Echo. The seven-year-old German Shepherd, known as Will, lived with handler PC Tony Mayo, who said the canine was “part of the family”. He said: “It was a very sad day. He was diagnosed with cancer and unfortunately it returned within a couple of weeks of retiring.“I had to make the decision because I didn’t want him to suffer and he had begun to close down. The way the cancer was, he was never going to get better.” Will was bred by Essex Police as a police dog and had been with Mr Mayo since he was 12 months old, when they both took part in a basic training course. Will became a general purpose police dog, in which he could go out on patrol, before learning skills which meant he could tackle firearms incidents. He then became a “tag and drag” dog, which meant he could detain people when attached to a harness line. Mr Mayo said: “They tend to live outside in a kennel but you integrate them into the family as much as you can, depending on their temperament. “He was so oversized and his character was such that he was a fully integrated member of the family. “He was well-known throughout Essex Police because he was a good thief-taker.” Just weeks ago, Will managed to track down a suspected teenage thief following reports that two men wearing balaclavas were carrying a bag filled with tools in High Road, Laindon.
