Grateful donations received at dog show
We want to express our gratitude for all the donations received at the World renowned Crufts Dog Show held over four days at the NEC, Birmingham.
Miniature Schnauzer, Beattie, our Stress Relief Officer, was ‘lapping up’ the fuss on the Benevolent Fund stand.
Beattie and owner Deb Ferris, who is also our Finance Manager, attended the four-day-event thanks to the kind invitation of Dave Reymond, ACPO Police Dog Instructor and dog handlers from the West Midlands Police Dog Unit.
Over the course of the four days, we received a steady flow of donations, thanks to the generosity of visitors who stopped by to see us. The final amount raised was £555.74, which is fantastic!
We would like to say a big thank you to Deb, her friend Jane and our Operations Committee member, Kay Bargewell for volunteering their time to operate our stand.
Beattie enjoyed the attention, stealing the limelight and we would like to extend our sincere thanks to Dave and his team for allowing Beattie and Deb to join them at the show.
Over the years our charity has provided direct support to dog handlers who have been seriously injured whilst on duty.
Last month we jointly funded, with Police Care UK, a new wheelchair for medically retired dog handler, Elizabeth Dixon. Back in the 1970’s, Elizabeth was the first female dog handler in the country. In 1986, her career with West Midlands Police was tragically cut short following a serious road traffic collision whilst on duty.
Back in 2017 dog handler, PC Dan Thomas was impaled on a metal fence while pursuing a suspected thief. We heard about his horrific injuries and offered Dan and his young family the chance to recover by the sea and enjoy some quality family time at our holiday home, Peels Retreat.
In the summer of 2022, we extended our support by funding a gazebo at the dog unit, to shelter the new West Midlands Police puppy recruits from the heat of the sun while they played in their pen.
To date this year, our charity has given out thousands of pounds in membership benefits to help serving and retired police officers as well as police staff.
For more details about our police charity visit www.wmpben.co.uk
Beattie is now having a well-earned rest after her busy time at Crufts!