Retired police dog charity covers 'huge vet bill' for former PSNI dog Ziva to remove mouth tumour
An animal charity has paid a ‘huge’ vet bill for a retired PSNI dog.
Dutch Herder Ziva needed surgery to remove a tumour from her mouth and treatment for an infection.
The unexpected bill totalled almost £2,000 – coming as a shock to the 10-year-old dog’s owners.
But the Thin Blue Paw Foundation – a charity that supports and rehabilitated retired police dogs across the UK – stepped in and covered the whole bill.
RPD (Retired Police Dog) Ziva worked for PSNI for three years before retiring in 2023 at the age of nine.
Her handler, Sarah, took her home to Co Antrim to join the family as a pet.
She said: “Ziva was an absolute dream to work with, although she was very noisy and totally bananas! She took her work very seriously and always focused on the task ahead; she would have taken on anything!
“The only problem was that she never stopped barking so it was difficult for anyone to hear what I was saying over the radio.”
In 2022, vets found a benign tumour growing on Ziva’s gum and, in 2023, removed the growth. Unfortunately, it grew back this year so needed to be removed again, with surgery in June.
“It was causing her discomfort and was bleeding so vets removed it again but it left a hole above her tooth and the bone was visible. When it got infected she needed more surgery and antibiotics.
“Thankfully she’s now on the mend, but we’ll forever be grateful to the Thin Blue Paw for stepping in again and helping Ziva in her hour of need and paying this huge bill.
“If the charity wasn’t there to help then I’d now be £2,000 in debt on my credit card which would have been a real worry for our whole family.”
The Foundation had already paid more than £1,000 towards Ziva's regular hydrotherapy.
Ziva – who was bred by the West Midlands Police breeding programme – ruptured her cruciate ligament while on duty, needing surgery to repair it. While she returned to service, vets warned that her other cruciate ligament was likely to need surgery in the future.
“I started doing everything I could to avoid surgery on her other leg, such as weekly hydrotherapy which has been supported by the Thin Blue Paw,” said Sarah.
“This has strengthened and stabilised her leg and she hasn’t needed surgery yet.”
Thin Blue Paw Chairman Kieran Stanbridge said: “Ziva was a brave and dedicated police dog who worked tirelessly to support the work of PSNI.
“Sadly, like many police dogs, when she retired she had a pre-existing medical condition – having ruptured her cruciate ligament – so it was difficult for Sarah to insure her. But we stepped in and offered to support her through her retirement.
“We’re incredibly proud that in our first five years we’ve supported more than 150 dogs like Ziva, giving over £400,000 in grants to owners for veterinary care for their dogs.”