#hmkingcharlesiii — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

Kit Peters @[email protected] · 2026-06-28 · 10:36 UTC

HERO HOUND: Police dog Hera retires after eight years catching criminals and even saving a life

A much-loved South Wales Police dog has retired after eight years of service — and what a career it has been.

PD Hera, a 10-year-old Dutch Herder, has hung up her harness after helping to catch criminals, find missing people and even save a life.

Originally brought over from Holland, she was one of the first female Dutch Herders to serve with the force.

She was named after Hera, the queen of the gods in Greek mythology — and her handler says she lived up to it.

Across her career, Hera helped track down and detain burglars, drug dealers and violent offenders, and played a key role in finding missing and vulnerable people across South Wales.

One incident in particular stands out. While helping officers following a pursuit, a suspect ran into a river and began to struggle in the cold water.

Hera tracked him in the dark and helped officers bring him safely to shore — showing not just her skill, but an instinct for when to protect life.

Her handler, Police Sergeant Joe McElroy, said Hera had been “a phenomenal dog from the day she was assigned to me.”

“She’s located countless offenders who simply wouldn’t have been found without her, but she’s also shown incredible judgement when it matters most, like helping to save a life,” he said. “She really is one of a kind.”

Hera’s talents have been recognised well beyond the force.

She is one of only a small number of police dogs in the UK to receive the prestigious Silver Blue Peter Badge for her service.

She also met His Majesty King Charles III — then the Prince of Wales — during South Wales Police’s 50th anniversary celebrations in Bridgend in July 2019, where she calmly accepted a fuss from the future King.

Hera met the then-Prince of Wales, now King Charles III, during South Wales Police’s 50th anniversary in Bridgend in July 2019. Image: South Wales PoliceHera (left) more recently featured on the BBC promoting the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals. Image: South Wales Police

More recently, Hera appeared on the BBC to promote the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals, which supports service animals once their working days are over.

Now her own working days are done, Hera will stay with Sergeant McElroy in retirement, joining retired police dog Keiko, who is 14.

She will also keep a watchful eye on the team’s newest recruit, PD Ozzy.

Sergeant McElroy said Hera had been “my protector, my colleague and my best friend for nearly a decade.”

“She’s been by my side through everything, so it’s only right that I now stand by her and make sure she enjoys the retirement she truly deserves,” he added.

Hera (front) pictured with two of her four-legged colleagues. Image: South Wales Police

The force paid tribute to Hera’s “courage, intelligence and unwavering loyalty,” and wished her a long and happy retirement.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

More from South Wales Police
The latest news and appeals from the force across the region.

More animal stories from Swansea Bay News
Heart-warming tales of pets and animals across South West Wales.

#HMKingCharlesIII #NFRSA #PDHera #PoliceDog #SouthWalesPolice

#hmkingcharlesiii #nfrsa #pdhera #policedog #southwalespolice

Kit Peters @[email protected] · 2026-06-08 · 09:43 UTC

MORRISTON: The scrub nurse who has served the NHS for 52 years — and was handed her qualification by the future King

A casual conversation in a supermarket 52 years ago set Anita Steel on a path she has never left.

Working at Tesco as a 17-year-old mum, she was told to “give working in the NHS a go” — advice that turned into a career spanning more than half a century.

Anita, who recently turned 70, still works as a scrub practitioner in the operating theatres at Morriston Hospital, assisting surgeons by preparing instruments and keeping strict sterile conditions to protect patients.

She has served what is now Swansea Bay University Health Board for 52 years — and is still counting.

Anita Steel with colleagues from the Morriston Hospital theatre team. Image: Swansea Bay University Health Board

Her training, completed in 1977, ended with a brush with royalty.

As it was a Jubilee year, her certificate was presented at a special ceremony in Swansea’s Brangwyn Hall by the future King, then Prince Charles.

“I was just 18 when I started my training, and when I completed that I was handed my certificate by Prince Charles. It was quite surreal meeting him,” she said.

She recalls him asking what she did. When she explained she worked in theatre recovery, waking patients after surgery, his reply caught her off guard.

“He replied ‘oh and how do you do that? With a kiss?’ which was quite funny,” she said.

In the decades since, Anita has seen healthcare transformed — from early surgical techniques to keyhole surgery and robotics, the arrival of computers, and the strain of the covid pandemic.

After the birth of her second daughter in 1979, she worked night shifts for 41 years, switching to days during covid when her health was affected by the lung condition COPD.

Now working 20 hours a week, she says it is the patients and her colleagues that have kept her there.

“The reason I have continued to work here is my dedication to patients and working alongside colleagues who I consider life-long friends,” she said.

“Working in a hospital environment is a pressurised setting, but we all work well together and keep our morale up as best as we can.”

Anita Steel, right, marks her 70th birthday with colleague Louise Evans in the theatres department. Image: Swansea Bay University Health Board

She credits her mother as her biggest role model. “For me, the best thing about my job is caring for people. That means a lot to me,” she said.

Caring, she says, runs in the family — her two granddaughters work for the health board, and one of her daughters manages a nursing home.

“Fifty two years is obviously a very long time to work in the same place. I guess it’s pretty rare these days,” she said. “But from the day I started I did see myself working a long time here.”

Jonathan Gates, head of nursing for surgery, said Anita had been “a constant” through every decade of change.

He said that to turn 70 and still be working, doing what she had done for over half a century, was “nothing short of remarkable”, and praised her “unwavering commitment, professionalism and compassion”.

“Anita is not just a colleague, she is part of the fabric of Morriston Theatres,” he said.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Welsh rugby legend Ryan Jones thanks hospital staff after surgery
Another story from the wards and theatres at Morriston.

#HMKingCharlesIII #MorristonHospital #SwanseaBayUniversityHealthBoard

#hmkingcharlesiii #morristonhospital #swanseabayuniversityhealthboard