Clyde underwater sniffer dog to receive animal OBE for crucial role

Barra, who lived in Luss with owner Iain Marshall, specialised in submerged victim recovery.

The springer spaniel, who sadly died in May this year, spent 11 years working alongside police across the UK, but was mainly based on the River Clyde.

He retired in June 2022 due to mobility issues stemming from operations to remove a tumour from one of his back legs.

Springer spaniel Barra with his proud owner Iain (Image: K9 Search and Recovery Scotland)

Now, Barra has been awarded the PDSA Order of Merit for his commitment to search and recovery, just months after getting his European Animals Hall of Fame Award.

And even though proud owner Iain is delighted for the well-deserved recognition he is clear that the duo's only mission was to bring closure to grieving families searching for their loved ones.

He told the Advertiser: "We have always kept under the radar to do the job that we do. It was one of the Glasgow cab drivers who has a well-known Facebook page called Glasgow Cabbie who raised awareness of our work.

"It was then people of the loved ones we had recovered who sent messages to the PDSA about Barra and his underwater work.

"I have always been proud of his achievement and he has been a fantastic dog since day one. The more negative comments I was getting from people about the work I was training Barra to do, the more determined I became."

READ MORE: Underwater sniffer dog retires after eleven years in crucial role

Barra was originally born in Wales before finding his forever home in Luss where his talent as a victim recovery dog was discovered.

He qualified as Scotland’s first underwater sniffer dog leading to the creation of K9 Search and Recovery Scotland.

Barra has been awarded the PDSA Order of Merit for his commitment to search and recovery (Image: K9 Search and Recovery Scotland)

"I've never had a dog in my life, so I decided to take it upon myself to get one as my way of helping others", Iain admitted.

"Barra's parents were police dogs for North Wales police, so we brought him up and started training him up. Initially it was for the Clyde area, but our travels have taken us down to the Yorkshire Moors and parts of Wales.

"He done very well in his career right up to the age of 13, but he developed arthritis and he eventually found it difficult on the boat. 

"We were just inseparable as we were with each other 24 hours a day. It was a special bond that can never been replaced.

"We never did this for awards and medals. We did this to help grieving families find their loved ones and get that closure for them."

He was the only dog in Scotland who was trained as an underwater sniffer (Image: K9 Search and Recovery Scotland)

There is now currently a campaign launched by Glasgow Cabbie to build a statue of Barra in the city.

Iain continued: "It is lovely to see people gather together to show their appreciation even after Barra has passed. It would be lovely to have a statue as he played a huge part of everyone's lives.

"I would just like to say a special thank you to McKenzie Vets in Alexandria for their help with Barra over the years."