Almost 116,000 people have signed a petition calling for police dogs and horses to be given ‘officer status’.
The petition was set up by PC Dave Wardell of the Beds, Herts and Cambs Dog Unit, after his German shepherd, Finn, was seriously injured when he was stabbed repeatedly in the head and chest as he tackled an armed man accused of robbing a Stevenage taxi driver.
“Under current legislation, attacks on police dogs are treated as criminal damage,” explains Jim Mallen, chairman of Bedfordshire Police Federation, “But this petition calls for a change to legislation which would mean that attacks on police animals would be treated as assault or even attempted murder.”
The petition needed to reach the 100,000 signature mark to potentially trigger a debate in Parliament on the issue.
PD Finn underwent a four-hour operation after the attack and had to have part of his lung removed but is now recovering at home.
- To sign the petition, visit: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/168678
