Meet Ulrich, the two year old German Shepherd who has been keeping a diary about his adventures ever since he joined the NSW Police Dog Unit training course as a puppy.
PD Ulrich helps his handler, Senior Constable David Wynne, investigate robberies, calm down domestic disputes, chase criminals and solve crimes.
He will swim through creeks and swamps, climbs down ravines, jump fences and sniff out bad guys wherever they are.
And he lets his followers know all about it in regular posts.
"Senior Constable Dave and I helped arrest a bad guy that was wanted by the police," Ulrich posted on Facebook in May.
"We hid around the back of his house and when the police knocked on the front door, he came running out the back but when he saw me and turned around and quickly run back inside. We then went in with some other police and arrested him. It was a great feeling to get such a bad guy off the street."
Ulrich was born as part of the NSW Police Force Dog Unit breeding program, and graduated as a police dog in December 2015 after completing his novice dog training course with his handler, Senior Constable David Wynne.
The son of a legendary police dog by the name of Chuck, Ulrich lives with Senior Constable Wynne and enjoys his down time with "cranky pants", retired police dog Bono.
But nothing makes him happier than being at work, where he is one of the most popular dogs on the squad.
Intimidating bad guys is all in a day's work for Ulrich.
"There were a few big brawls and its remarkable (I'm learning new words all the time) how people who are brawling react when I get out of the car," Ulrich wrote.
"I give them a few really strong barks and all of a sudden then don't seem to want to fight anymore."
And he's great at finding stolen property, weapons and items of interest and other loot.
"SC Dave .... and I think I am getting better at finding 'things' all the time, and the smaller 'thing' I find the happier it seems to make Dave," says Ulrich.
In March, Ulrich was the inaugural winner of the Service Dog Award in the 2016 Royal Agricultural Society Canine Hero Awards, receiving his award from Governor General Peter Cosgrove.
He helped track down 86 year old Herbert 'Nobby' Bartlett who went missing from Maitland Hospital in March 2015.
Mr Bartlett had been missing for four days when Ulrich dragged Senior Constable Wynne 50 metres down a ravine and found the elderly man at the bottom.
"It was such an honour to receive the award," said Ulrich. "Senior Constable Dave got interviewed and we were on the news. I think I looked ok but Dave definitely has a head for radio."
Governor General Peter Cosgrove with Senior Constable David Wynne and Ulrich. Source: Facebook
Don't worry, it's not all work and no play for PD Ulrich. He gets to go on holidays too: "I told SC Dave I didn't need a break from my job, which I L.O.V.E. but SC Dave said it will be good to relax and be a dog for a while."
PD Ulrich Source: Facebook
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