British pet detective says animal sleuthing is ace

By Georgina Cooper

TARRINGTON, England (Reuters Life!) - They've got patrol cars, walkie-talkies, wear uniforms and even use sniffer dogs when pounding the beat - but these aren't police officers - they are Britain's first proper pet detectives.

Tom Watkins, founder of Animal Search UK, is a real life Ace Ventura, and he gets a lot of teasing about the fictional pet detective played by actor Jim Carrey.

"I can have a laugh about it because I enjoy what I do," Watkins told Reuters while out on the beat in rural Herefordshire, England near the Welsh border.

"It is a really rewarding occupation, so a bit of mickey-taking (teasing) I can put up with, for the fact that it is such fun and I enjoy it so much," he said.

Driving around in vehicles resembling police cars with the words "Missing Pet Search Team" emblazoned across the front, Watkins and his uniformed team are available for hire to crack the trickier cases of animals gone missing or even stolen.

The newest members of the team are a black Labrador named D-For (as in D for dog) and Mikey, a scrappy looking Yorkshire Terrier. These canine super sleuths wear fluorescent jackets and use their sniffing skills to investigate the whereabouts of missing animals...even cats.

"It's very important to get a dog that's got the right temperament, that likes cats and that is not going to get excited when they find a cat," said Watkins.

After being given the scent of the missing cat, the dogs sniff in hedgerows and in out-buildings and will only bark, not attack, if they detect an animal that is perhaps trapped in a garage or a shed.