A RESCUE dog given up by five different homes has gone to be nominated for a national award because of his one-of-a-kind work.

Henry, a rescue Springer Spaniel, is thought to be the UK’s only sniffer dog trained to spot hedgehogs – and has been nominated for a Naturo SuperDog Award.

The pup has a sense of smell 100,000 times more sensitive than a human’s which helps him sniff out his targets.

When Henry finds a hedgehog he indicates by sitting or lying down beside Louise who will then check the spot, taking care to not disturb the animal.

Louse Wilson, owner of Wrexham-based Conservation K9 Consultancy, spoke to the Leader about how Henry came to be part of her life.

She said: “Henry had a difficult start to his life and lacked trust, and I have worked with him for years to bring out his own personality and focus his energy on his work.

“I was looking for a dog that wasn’t going to be a good pet dog, one that would be suitable to be put to work. I was calling rescue after rescue until I came across Henry.

“I got him at eight months old – and to have been picked up and brought back from five different homes – it baffled me. We soon realised that he was a very clever dog that liked to test his humans.

“As an animal handler I’m used to dogs so picked up on what he was doing straight away. It comes in a number of ways, like dropping things in your way he wants you to pick up and play with, but the goal for him is to get attention.

“He is one of many rescue dogs at Conservation K9 Consultancy, where we train dogs to help with conservation, wildlife research and ecology.”

Henry has proven that dogs can be one of the best tools to help survey and protect hedgehogs, adds Louise, and is an ‘incredible’ part in keeping hedgehogs around for future generations.

She told the Leader how her four-legged colleague has been working tirelessly with Hartpury University, hedgehog expert Lucy Bearman Brown, People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

When asked why she think Henry deserves this award, Louise said: “He’s more than just a dog – he’s a colleague and good friend to us just like any human.

“What he does is just incredible and something that people just couldn’t. He’s such a hard worker and proof that no dog is untrainable.”

To secure his award, Henry needs public support. You can vote for him using the link here - https://superdogawards.co.uk/nominations/10468/.