Issued on 22nd October 2020
Animal Friends Pet Insurance and the Thin Blue Paw Foundation launch an exclusive new partnership that will see vital financial and medical support provided to the UK’s serving and retired police dogs.
Although many understand the crucial role dogs play in assisting police forces with finding missing people, preventing crime, and protecting our communities, what is not commonly known is after retirement the cost of supporting and caring for an ex-police dog falls solely to their handler or new owner.
With approximately 1,400 dogs working on average 40 hours a week in the UK’s police forces today - many of which will suffer attacks or sustain serious injury - these brave canines could be faced with an uncertain and difficult future when they retire due to pre-existing conditions or long term effects of injuries sustained during their service.
After years of dedicated service, training and selfless devotion, retired police dogs can experience a distressing and painful separation from their handlers if they are unable to meet the cost of providing adequate care and treatment for these hardworking animals.
Due to their specialist training and working experience, these incredible animals often have difficulty finding the right pet insurance for their needs and with the average cost per condition for a retired police dog reaching up to £2,000, their careers can sometimes suffer significant financial strain or be faced with a heart-wrenching decision.
One retiree that knows all too well the health risks of working in the Force is ex-police dog Finn, a Britain’s Got Talent finalist and official ambassador for the Thin Blue Paw Foundation. Brutally stabbed whilst protecting his handler in the line of duty, Finn now requires ongoing rehabilitation treatment, regular consultations with the vet and physiotherapy just to keep him healthy at a cost of over £2,000 a year for his handler, Dave.
To help combat the issue, Animal Friends has donated £50,000 to the Foundation to help cover the cost of medication, treatment and rehabilitation therapy. Furthermore, they are providing owners of retired police dogs with access to convenient veterinary care via the online platform, Joii, allowing UK pet owners to access vets 24/7, 365 days a year.
The pet insurance provider has also pledged to work with the Thin Blue Paw Foundation to explore the development of a new product that could offer vital cover for these brave dogs in their retirement.
The partnership announcement comes on the eve of Finn’s Law Part 2 returning to Parliament, which seeks to increase the maximum sentence for animal welfare offences from six months’ imprisonment up to five years.
Westley Pearson, Managing Director, Animal Friends commented: “These extraordinary animals dedicate their lives to serving our communities, protecting our loved ones, and keeping our police officers safe whilst on duty.
“We are honoured to have the opportunity to work alongside the Thin Blue Paw Foundation team and help these highly trained, and often decorated, animals in their retirement. After years of dedicating their lives to ensuring our safety, they deserve to receive the best possible care and treatment.
“Our hope is that through our partnership, these courageous creatures can receive the medical treatment they rightly deserve and benefit from easier access to vets, preventative care, and rehabilitative treatment, such as physio, through the Joii app.
“We urge others to get involved, give what they can, and not only support this amazing charity but also the passing of Finn’s Law Part Two.”
Dave Wardell, Thin Blue Paw Trustee said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Animal Friends Insurance which will provide these unsung canine heroes with an even greater level of support.
“The £50,000 donation makes an incredible difference to the help we are able to provide and has already covered life-changing surgery for one ex-police dog whose owners were struggling to pay for this crucial treatment.
“We currently have 85 dogs registered with us which are in need of funding for life-saving operations, therapy, treatment and medication - and the number keeps growing.
“These dogs give everything they have to ensuring our safety, often picking up physical and emotional injuries along the way due to the stresses and strains of policing.
“It is only with the support of organisations like Animal Friends and the generosity of the public, that these dogs can look forward to a dignified, healthy and carefree future through the Foundation.”
The Thin Blue Paw Foundation and Animal Friends hope that by working together they can enable a healthier and happier future for the UK’s courageous frontline canines.
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For journalists who would like further press information, images or interview requests please email press@thinbluepaw.org.uk
About Animal Friends
Founded in 1998, Animal Friends Insurance has always had one clear mission: committing to providing cat, dog, and horse insurance cover with a quality of service that will be remembered and recommended, whilst helping charities worldwide and raising awareness of their work.
To date, the multi-award-winning company has donated over £4.5 million to charities worldwide and is one of the UK’s largest pet insurers looking after over 1 million pets. Animal Friends Insurance has also supported animal rehoming initiatives, helping long term rescue centre residents find their forever homes.
Animal Friends Insurance is a trading name of Animal Friends Insurance Services Limited (Registered in England #3630812, VAT #975288368), authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and underwritten by Red Sands Insurance Company (Europe) Limited (RSE). Financial Services Register No. 307858. Animal Friends Insurance completes non-advised sales only.
Animal Friends House, The Crescent, Sun Rise Way, Amesbury, Wiltshire SP4 7QA.
To learn more about Animal Friends Insurance, visit: www.animalfriends.co.uk/
About the Thin Blue Paw Foundation:
The Thin Blue Paw Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales (1190959), founded in May 2020 with the aim of protecting, celebrating & rehabilitating both serving and retired police dogs from across the United Kingdom.
To learn more about the Thin Blue Paw Foundation or to donate, visit: thinbluepaw.org.uk or connect with us on social media:
Facebook: /ThinBluePaw
Twitter: @ThinBluePaw
Instagram: @ThinBluePaw
TikTok: @ThinBluePaw
About Finn’s Law Part 2:
This legislation will increase maximum sentences for animal welfare offences from six months up to five years to better protect animals from abuse. The Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Bill (also known as Finn’s Law) came into force on 8 June 2019 to protect service animals such as police dogs and horses from violent attacks. Following on from the success of this legislation, Finn’s Law Part 2 (The Animal Welfare Sentencing Bill) has been introduced to put in place tougher sentences for all animal welfare offences. Increasing the current six month punishment for animal cruelty offences to five years imprisonment for all animals.
How can you support #FinnsLawPart2?
Please contact your MP and politely ask them to let you know that they pledge their support (on behalf of your constituency) to support the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill aka #FinnsLawPart2. Then let @K9Finn know via social media and they we will update #FinnsMapOfMPs who are supporting the bill in parliament.
About Joii
Joii is an app from Research &Development company Vet-AI which launched spring 2019 to tackle the rising costs of a vet care for pets by offering pet owners remote consultations with real vets and nurses, via their smartphones.
Designed to make pet healthcare accessible and affordable for everyone, Joii is an artificial intelligence app set to revolutionise the UK and global vet market. Built by a team of experts with cutting edge, bespoke technology, Joii is an app for pet parents to use to diagnose and receive recommended treatment for pets from the comfort of their home.
Founded in 2017 by entrepreneurs; tech expert Paul Hallett and experienced vets Robert Dawson and Sarah Warren, Joii brings med-tech to the homes of pet parents.
Dedicated to digitalising animal health industries, Paul set out to secure funding, approaching one of the largest animal health companies in the UK and met his business partner, Robert Dawson. Vet AI was launched in 2018, officially setting up the brand and the app, Joii, in spring 2019.
The founders spent eighteen months researching and understanding, what their pet owners’ needs are and what technology is currently available for pet diagnosis. The more research Paul and Robert did, the more exciting their idea became.
Co-founders Paul, Sarah and Robert, are investors in people, building a team of industry experts including vets, PhD level data scientists and technology programmers. The team consists of OBE award-winning entrepreneur Jonathan Sands as chairman alongside senior data scientist Trevor Hardcastle, a renowned computational physicist, frequent presenter at international conferences with 16 published papers to his name.
