Police dog hero's life saved by emergency surgery

A police dog who needed life-saving surgery is now recovering at home after a charity stepped in to cover the costs of his emergency operation.  

Retired Police Dog (RPD) Neo, nine, served with Humberside Police and was adopted by a fellow officer when he retired. 

Earlier this month, he needed emergency life-saving surgery after falling ill very rapidly. The Thin Blue Paw Foundation – a charity that supports working and retired police dogs – stepped in to pay the £4,000 bill.  

Neo’s owner, Rob James, adopted the German Shepherd in 2018 when he retired at the age of four. As a police officer, he’d worked alongside him and wanted to give him a retirement home. 

Rob, from Hornsea in East Yorkshire, said: “Neo was handled by one of my best friends, Steve, and I was a firearms officer at the time so I’d often seen them out on deployments when they were supporting our team.  

“I knew Neo had been a successful and formidable working dog and felt my lifestyle would suit him well. I’ve kept German shepherds since the age of 12 and had lost one of my dogs just a few years earlier.  

“Neo loves living in the countryside so he gets long walks and there are lots of places he can swim. I now live by the seaside and he absolutely loves going to the beach, he plays like a puppy!” 

Neo lives with Rob, his girlfriend, his children and their other dogs.

Rob was working on 8 September when his partner called him to say Neo was making strange noises and that his stomach was hard and he was trying but struggling to be sick.  

“I was a fair distance from my home address and was about to start searching a property with my specialist police dog,” Rob said. “A quick call to a supervisor cleared me from the incident and I immediately made a call to my friend, who lives in the same village as me, and he agreed to drive Neo to the vets where I met them late at night. 

“I also contacted the Thin Blue Paw and while I was on the way to the vets, one of the trustees contacted me to say the charity would help if it could.” 

The vets saw Neo urgently and confirmed he was suffering from gastric torsion – where the stomach twists and fills with gas or fluid. He needed surgery immediately to save his life, and they agreed to cover the costs of Neo’s treatment. 

“To my astonishment, the charity said it would step in and, in doing so, saved Neo’s life. Never have I seen such kindness and felt such relief – I'm still beyond words.  

“Neo is doing really well after his surgery. I find myself thinking a lot about how life might have turned out if the Foundation hadn’t stepped in to help with the costs of this surgery – I'm so pleased he’s been given a chance. 

“I can’t thank the Thin Blue Paw enough for what it’s done for Neo and for our family. I will forever be thankful for what you’ve done.” 

Thin Blue Paw Foundation trustee, Kieran Stanbridge, said: “We have 400 dogs registered with the charity who we support when they need us, but sometimes there’s an emergency from a dog we don’t know and we feel we need to step in to help save their life. 

“Poor Neo was seriously ill when Rob called us on the way to the vets and he wasn’t sure how he’d cover the costs of the emergency treatment. We knew we needed to help and we agreed to cover the full costs.  

“We’re so pleased we were able to step in at Neo and Rob’s time of need, and that Neo is now back at home with his family recovering well.” 

Rob has now pledged to raise money for the charity to thank them for supporting him, and his Humberside Police colleagues are keen to get involved!