We hear many stories in the press about service men being injured on tour or killed on duty whilst protecting the wider public but we rarely hear about their service dog companions. Trained to support and work alongside our brave service personnel in addressing crime and terror, they help keep us safe on the streets. However, despite their skill and bravery, they rarely get the acknowledgement they rightfully deserve.

In 2016 however, an incident took place in Stevenage, when police dog Finn and his handler PC Dave Wardell were harmed in the line of duty.

A dog lover myself, I was saddened to hear about this incident. Dogs are so loyal and will do their utmost to please. Exposure on how Finn (and his handler) were injured wasn’t nice reading. What was interesting however post ‘event’, was the growing plight of Finn’s Law and the campaigns building momentum and in 2019, they achieved the best result:

“New legislation under the Animal Welfare Act, known as ‘Finn’s Law’, recognises crime fighting animals as public servants, rather than police property.”
8th June 2019

Sadly today, I read another story about a police dog called Audi who was stabbed in the head by someone in Staffordshire. BUT the revelation to hit the media following this coverage is that the culprit was jailed – a UK legal first and with Finn’s Law, I hope many more serving dogs get the justice they deserve when injured in the line of duty.

Love and loyalty from our furry friends…
I am a trainee dog behaviourist and have spent many weeks learning about dogs and domestication and understanding how dogs have become loyal to their owners, leaders, and nurturers over the last few centuries. From wild, grey wolf to friendly and emotionally in sync pet and co-worker. Dogs have learnt to work alongside us and go ‘some way’ to understanding our emotions.

Research has even suggested that our dogs – working dog or pet – love their owners. Dogs experience love and affection in similar ways that humans do and they are also in tune to our emotions. If I am having a bad day, my dog knows. If I am at threat, even on a small scale ie: a bee – my dog knows.

Dogs deserve the utmost respect and in particular service dogs who put their lives on the line, working in parallel with their handlers, day in, day out – deserve the recognition for it.

#Finns Law #respect