London Fire Brigade’s four-legged super sleuths will be supported by a charity which helps retired service dogs thanks to a new partnership.
The London Retired Police Dogs Trust (LRPD), which was established in 2019, helps service dogs and their handlers once the animals have left their organisations. The charity will now provide financial support to the Brigade’s Fire Investigation dogs should they need it in their retirement.
Once they stand down from their work, the Brigade’s fire dogs are offered to their handlers to take on as pets, and as with all service dogs, any subsequent costs for any illnesses or conditions are covered by the handler. Many insurance companies are reluctant to insure working dogs which means unexpected bills can be challenging.
The Brigade currently has three dogs – cocker spaniel Sherlock and English springer spaniels Simba and Watson. Sherlock is due to retire in the near future, and his handler Station Commander Paul Osborne now has the security of knowing LRPD can step in and provide assistance with vet bills if needed.
The dogs provide years of service to the Brigade and deserve to be secure in their retirement. They are trained to identify a range of ignitable substances to determine whether fires have been started deliberately. They use their keen sense of smell to identify an area of interest, which is then documented before samples are taken for analysis by police.
When investigating fire scenes, the dogs wear boots to protect their paws from any shards of glass or other sharp objects and also have their own personal protective equipment (PPE) to match our firefighters and fire investigators. Although it might look dangerous, the dogs are never sent into hot scenes and there has been no report of any injury sustained during service to any fire dog throughout the country.
As well as sniffing out crime, the fire investigation dogs are also ambassadors for the Brigade, promoting fire safety messages to a wide range of communities.
LRPD is a London based charity which was founded by two police dog handlers who adopted their dogs and ended up with huge vet bills. It currently supports more than 20 former service dogs and in return for its support, the Brigade will assist with fundraising including inviting representatives along to station open days.
Phil Wells, Co-founder of LRPD, said: “We are a London-based charity and it only seemed right that we should be supporting our city’s fire investigation dogs as well as its police dogs.
“We hope that by working together we can give them the support they deserve in retirement after giving so much to London.”
The Brigade’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner for Fire Safety, Charlie Pugsley, said: “Our fire investigation dogs are a vital part of the team and we’re really pleased to be supported by the London Retired Police Dogs Trust.
“This partnership will ultimately take pressure off our handlers if they do decide to adopt their dogs and it helps ensure they will have a long and happy retirement.”