The Cat
Who Was a Constable
| In September 2007, British
Transport Police adopted PC Tizer to patrol a leading rail station in
London, England. Tizer was a spry 13-year-old whose owner had
recently died when he accepted the new position. An honorary constable, in his off-duty time PC Tizer shared an office with Inspector Roy Sloane and had the run of the 3-story building. His duties were to patrol the building as the official mouser. Sloane said: "PC Tizer is already an essential member of the team. Since we got him we haven't seen any mice in the building at all. He doesn't catch them, but he must be scaring them away just by being there. "Prior to his arrival we were spending a fortune on pest control and it wasn't really working. That's initially why I decided a cat would be a good idea, but then it occurred to me it would be great for staff morale too. "Everyone is always asking after him, and he is probably the most popular member of staff. As well as being a good boost to morale, he does help de-stress staff on particularly hectic days, so he definitely earns his keep. "The station is manned 24 hours a day, so Tizer gets plenty of fuss and attention. But he also shares his office with me so he can go in there and unwind when he's off duty." Tizer retired from duty in 2009, moving to Inspector Sloane's home. He regretably passed on in September 2009. |