A police dog that was injured while responding to a knife incident in Aberdeen is to be honoured in the form of a painting.
PD Zeus, a six-year-old Belgian Malinois, became a local hero earlier this year after sustaining multiple stab wounds while on duty with Police Scotland during a serious incident.
The dog suffered injuries during the incident and was taken to the vets for treatment.
Zeus has since recovered from his injuries and returned to policing duties.
His courage, along with the leadership of his handler, sergeant Paul Wigley, was recognised in April with the inaugural National Foundation of Retired Service Animals (NFRSA) Bravery Award.
To mark Zeus’s heroism, North East Scotland College’s (NESCol) art and design department invited students to create a portrait or full-body painting of the courageous canine.
Students were commissioned to submit an initial A3 painting as a proposal for a finalised piece.
Following an initial visit to the campus, during which Zeus posed ‘patiently’ for photographs, he returned along with his handler, PC Steve Warden and chief inspector Cath Thorburn to select the winning submission.
“We are immensely proud to honour police dog Zeus with a portrait in recognition of his bravery,” said chief inspector Cath Thorburn of Police Scotland’s dog unit.
“The character and professionalism shown by Zeus highlight how highly trained our police dogs are and the hours of work and care to develop that bond with their handler.
“Our dogs serve the public alongside officers every day, and they are a part of the police family.
“This tribute reflects the deep appreciation held by students, staff and the wider public, and we are extremely grateful for this kind gesture.”
The panel chose a portrait painted by Agata Sood, an art and design portfolio building student, who will recreate her work into a larger piece that will go on permanent display at Nelson Street Police Station in Aberdeen.
“It’s amazing – I was surprised also because there were so many other talented painters who made really great work,” explained Agata.
“This was actually my first painting of the dog; I paint quite a lot of paintings, but mainly landscapes.
“But it was quite a nice challenge; I quite enjoyed this.”
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