An Asian small-clawed otter named Splash has been honored as Animal of the Year at the 4th Annual Purple Poppy Awards, held at the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, D.C. Splash works with the all-volunteer Peace River K9 Search and Rescue Association in Englewood, where he is believed to be the first otter ever trained for underwater detection of human remains and evidence. His handler, PRSAR president Michael Hadsell, accepted the award on his behalf.
Born at an Arizona zoo in 2023, Splash was donated to the association at four months old. Across 33 deployments, he has contributed to 11 recoveries, all at no cost to families or law enforcement. For a region that knows the weight of bad days on the water, that record matters.
Splash was recently pulled from active field service after he began retrieving skeletal evidence instead of leaving it undisturbed, a serious concern in forensic cases. PRSAR has set strict re-testing standards before he can return to the field. The award and the benching arrived in the same season, which says something about how careful this work has to be.
Do you think Splash deserves another shot at field service once he re-tests?
