Humberside police dog who survived being shot in the head THRICE, awarded lifetime acheivement award
HUMBERSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM: A Humberside police dog, shot three times for tackling a criminal wanted for attempted murder, has been awarded lifetime achievement award after his remarkable career. The dog Logan's handler, PC Ian Sweeney, describes him as his "soulmate" who has the rare distinction of working for the force over seven-and-a-half years, without missing a single day's work.
Logan received the commendation at the Thin Blue Paw Awards on Thursday, September 22, after he retired at eight and a half years of age in 2020. Even though the dedicated pooch was shot thrice in his head and mouth, he miraculously survived his injuries. "Logan is my soulmate and I'm so proud of him for everything he's achieved. Logan has assisted in hundreds of tracks and arrests, he's saved countless lives, he's helped to keep the peace at events and has kept the public safe", Sweeney said, according to Daily Mail.
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"This award is particularly special as it encompasses everything he's done and I don't think you ever really believe you'll achieve something like that!" he said, adding, "It makes all the hard work so worthwhile. I still feel incredibly shocked, overwhelmed and overjoyed by it!"
Logan reportedly had no training at all when he joined the Humberside police department in January 2015 at 10 months old from the South Yorkshire Police breeding programme. But, he qualified as a firearms support dog in 2017.
PC Sweeney, 52, from North East Lincolnshire , served as a police for almost three decades among which he spent 13 years working in the dog unit. "It usually takes around 13 weeks to train a general purpose police dog but Logan took only eight weeks before he was trained and licensed, and we hit the streets in May 2015!", he said. "He was a natural with his scent detection and tracking, I've never known a dog like him. He had a faultless career; he was very diverse, and he always passed all of his assessments and never put a paw wrong. He was the dream dog."
Charity trustee Kieran Stanbridge said, "Logan spent more than seven years fighting crime, sniffing out the bad guys, helping to find vulnerable people, and keeping his community safe — his list of achievements is staggering. Logan who retired in May (2022) - has a long list of achievements making it easy for the Thin Blue Paw Awards judges to name him as the worthy winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award."
Logan received gun shot injuries in his head and mouth after one such encounter. But, thankfully, the wounds were found to be superficial, and so the vet cleaned the cuts and left them to heal naturally. Logan was then awarded the Heart of the Community Award along with the North East Region 2 National Bravery Award for his devoted service in the line of duty. The German Shepherd was honoured at the ceremony which is supported by Animal Friends Insurance.
