The National Foundation for Retired Service Animals (NFRSA) are enormously proud to welcome the West Midlands Police Dog Benevolent Fund (WMPD Benevolent Fund) to their animal charity family, helping to ensure even more retired service animals receive the love and respect they deserve in their retirement.
The NFRSA is a registered charity, founded in 2022 by Countess Bathurst of Cirencester Park, and its aim is to support retired dogs and horses from the Police, Fire & Rescue, Prison, Border Force, and National Crime Agency (NCA) services, by assisting the owners with medical and veterinary bills, which inevitably occur as age advances.
The NFRSA works closely with many locally based charities who do so much to help retired police dogs in their counties, having formed bonds with the committees, and the RWMPD Benevolent Fund is no exception. Both charities share the same values, beliefs and ideals. Their passion is to take care of retired service animals and support their families.
The RWMPD Benevolent Fund was established in 2014 by a small group of volunteers, independent of the police, who wanted to create a framework which supported the brave police dogs in their retirement. Police dogs in the West Midlands have been protecting the lives of the public and their fellow officers since PD Kim and PD Flash were recruited to the force in 1951. Since then they have played an important and vital role in locating criminals, finding evidence and ultimately protecting and serving their local communities.
Due to the type of work the dogs undertake, it is very difficult for their handlers to obtain any kind of medical insurance when they retire, so the financial burden of their care is a huge consideration. Without financial support, those who took on a retired police dog often had to make really difficult decisions with regards to their treatment.
The RWMPD Benevolent Fund raises monies via a membership subscription for each dog (£50 pa pro-rata, from when a dog joins in the first year), as well as sales and donations, which enables it to cover the veterinary cost of retired police dogs and aims to ensure that all retired West Midlands police dogs enjoy the retirement they deserve, with the highest levels of ongoing medical care and treatment.
The aim had always been to move to Charitable status, so it is thrilled to be merging with the NFRSA.
To date the Fund has provided support on 80 occasions with payments made in excess of £20,000 and with all claims paid in full. The NFRSA will ensure that all monies raised via the RWMPD Benevolent Fund post merger will go towards supporting West Midlands Police Dogs. Trustees of the WMPD Benevolent Fund are incredibly proud of their achievements and remain dedicated to helping retired dogs for years to come.
The establishment and the success of the NFRSA provides an opportunity to transition the Benevolent Fund into the NFRSA which will ensure that retired West Midlands Police Dogs can continue to be afforded the support they have benefited from over the past 10 years – Terry Grove Treasurer, Retired West Midlands Police Dog Benevolent Fund
“We are deeply honoured that a local charity such as the RWMPD Benevolent Fund has decided to join our family. The Trustees, and in particular, Terry Grove, have worked over the last ten years to ensure their retired police dogs are taken care of and we will continue that legacy as a national charity going forward.’” National Foundation for Retired Service Animals
With insurance unavailable for retired service animals, and all funding stopped at the end of their working careers, the NFRSA helps owners to continue to cherish their four-legged partners by offering reassurance that support is there when their animal falls sick. This ensures these wonderful animals can stay where they belong, with the families they love as the years advance instead of having to be rehomed, or worse.
Since its launch in May 2022, The NFRSA has already gifted over £50,000 in financial grants, and is seeing a significant rise in demand due to the cost of living crisis. With approximately 3,500 retired service animals across the country, this is a huge challenge, but one The NFRSA is determined to meet.
Service animals have devoted the best part of their lives to keeping the public safe, and this national charity, with the help of their supporters, is simply returning the favour. There is still a great deal to be done.
The NFRSA will be attending this year’s Crufts alongside the RWMPD Benevolent Fund and West Midlands Police Dog Unit, who support The Kennel Club with police dog demonstrations.
For more information please visit: https://www.nfrsa.org.uk/
