Retired Police Dog Gets Back on Her Paws with Charity Help
By Animals Correspondent
Retired Police Dog (RPD) Heidie served as a general purpose dog with Police Scotland for four years.
The German Shepherd worked with police handler Jo Devlin and, when Jo retired in 2022, Heidie retired with her to live as her pet at home in Motherwell.
Jo said: “Heidie had an excellent nose and was an exceptional tracker. She’s very feisty and likes to think she’s the boss so she scared many ‘baddies’ while out on patrol.
“However, her nose let her down when we went out for a late evening walk.”
The pair enjoyed their last walk of the day before heading home to bed.
Jo, 56, added: “Heidie sleeps on her bed next to my bed and when she got up around 1am to go out to the toilet she stumbled, she struggled down the stairs and was really wobbly in the garden.
“She was finding it difficult to use her back legs and flinched when I stroked her.
“I was so upset; I thought she’d had a stroke or something. I called the emergency vets and rushed her to Glasgow.
“The vet asked me to walk her around the waiting room and said he thought he knew what was wrong. He asked if she’d eaten anything she shouldn’t but I didn’t think she had.
“I was shocked when he told me he thought she’d had a marijuana overdose! I couldn’t believe it; an ex-police dog who’d had too much cannabis!”
Vets induced nine-year-old Heidie to be sick and treated her with medication before allowing her home. She slept all day but was soon back to her happy self.
Jo added: “I can only think she managed to pick up a small amount of the drug while we were out on her evening walk without me realising.
“She never eats things off the floor; it was very odd, but quite funny for a retired police dog to get caught red-handed on drugs!
“On a serious note, though, I’m hugely grateful to the Thin Blue Paw Foundation for being there to help Heidie, and me, when we needed them most.
“Heidie means the world to me and getting help at this difficult time was really helpful, especially with the cost of living as it is right now.”
Heidie is supported by the Thin Blue Paw Foundation – a charity that supports retired police dogs across the UK with the cost of veterinary treatment – so Jo contacted them immediately.
Thin Blue Paw founder Kieran Stanbridge said:
“Heidie spent years chasing suspects and sniffing out the proceeds of crime, it was certainly a surprise when her nose for the job led her to eat an illegal drug!
“Heidie is the first dog we’ve had to support after eating an illegal drug, but she may not be the last!
“We never know what could be coming around the corner and if we’ve learned anything over the last five years, it’s to expect the unexpected! Still, we’re proud we can be there for our incredible canine heroes when they need us.”
The Foundation paid for the £540 emergency treatment, on 31st January, so Jo didn’t have to worry about the cost.
The charity supports more than 180 retired police dogs across the UK, assisting owners with financial help for veterinary treatment, rehabilitative therapy and medication that can be very costly.
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Since launching in 2020, the charity has paid more than £400,000 in claims for retired police dogs.
To see more about the charity Thin Blue Paw click here
