A CHARITY that supports police dogs when they retire has launched a campaign calling for pensions for all police service animals when they hang up their badges.
The Thin Blue Paw Foundation has launched a petition calling for the Government to introduce mandatory financial assistance for police dogs once they retire – or police dog pensions.
Meaning new owners are not left to face hefty vet bills for dogs who often come with health and medical conditions due to their strenuous working lives.
The Foundation supports retired police dogs across the UK and has, since launching in August 2020, provided grants totalling more than £380,000 for life-saving surgeries, vital medication, and regular therapy to ensure these canine heroes live long, happy and healthy retirements and receive the treatment they need for any medical conditions they suffer.
There are around 1,700 serving police dogs operating across the UK’s 45 police forces, and an estimated 100, on average, retire every year.
While the Thin Blue Paw Foundation will continue to support retired police dogs across the UK – the charity’s trustees want to see policy change to secure the futures of these dogs and guarantee they can access the best in veterinary treatment, therapy and medication once they retire.
The charity has launched a petition and is urging the public to get behind the campaign, which would see the Government ringfencing budget to ensure a basic level of support to the retired dogs’ new owners to ensure they are not left with the significant financial pressures themselves.
Around £5,000 of those funds have paid for Captain, who served with West Midlands Police as a general purpose dog for three years before retiring, in 2022, when he ruptured his cruciate ligament and being declared unfit for service.
The strenuous working life had taken its toll on the seven-year-old’s spine and the German Shepherd now needs major spinal surgery to repair the damage his physical career had on his body.
The Thin Blue Paw has already paid for diagnostic tests, scans and treatment to find the extent of the damage to his spine and veterinary experts have suggested he needs rehabilitative therapy to strengthen him before they can operate.
And the charity is paying for him to have regular hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and medication, and the surgery is expected to cost a further £5,000.
The charity’s chairman, Kieran Stanbridge, said: “Unfortunately, the wear and tear from Captain’s working life has left its mark on his body, and he’s been struggling on his rear legs for some time. Tests have shown that he’s got severe damage to his spine which needs surgery so he can continue to have a quality of life.
“Captain gave years of his life to working as a police dog and now he deserves to have a long and happy, comfortable retirement, so we want to give him the very best chance at that.”
Captain, who was partnered with PC Marcus Cottrell, during his career was a ‘fearsome’ police dog who was excellent at his job and won the Police Chief’s Certificate of Achievement.
Kieran Stanbridge added: “Police dogs lead physically demanding lives and, when they retire – whether due to injury or age – they often have health problems as a result of their career, which can require expensive medication, therapy and management throughout their retirement.
“Although we’ve worked with insurance companies over the last few years to help them launch special policies that are open to retired police dogs making it easier for owners to get insurance cover, it’s the Government’s responsibility to offer some ongoing support to these canine heroes once they hang up their harness.”
The Foundation says arthritis is the most common condition it helps owners treat and, based on an average of £200 each month for pain-relief medication, estimates that it costs around £2,400 a year more to care for a retired police dog than a normal pet dog of a similar age and breed.
For more or to back the petition click here.
