Page 32 - WMPF Federation Dec-Jan 2021_Neat

Perfect pairing

‘I was there by his side

every step of the way’

hen police dog handler Louise The pair eventually returned to full duty
McMullen was bed-ridden for six but after just six weeks, Louise grew
Wmonths and told she would never concerned about her four-legged partner.
work again she thought her career was over. “We had a really busy shift one night, just
But two years later she was back on the beat like the fateful crash night, and I got him out
with her loyal dog Wolfie by her side. at a job to track a suspect but I knew
And, just a few years later, she was by his instantly that something wasn’t right,” she
side when he had to learn to walk again after said. “His behaviour was completely
being injured in a police chase crash. different. He was hunting for water and I was
Louise was working with police dog Usha worried he was in pain from his previous
in 2012 when she was diagnosed with injuries.
chronic fatigue syndrome – or ME – and left “I took him to the vets and they
bed-ridden. Doctors told her she would never diagnosed him with PTSD. I contacted
be a serving police officer again but she management immediately and told them I
refused to give up hope of returning to her wouldn’t put him in a position that caused
dream job. him stress or anxiety and they agreed; he
With the support of West Midlands was retired straightaway. There was no
Police, Louise was matched with a new doubt he’d be coming home with me; not
four-legged partner, German shepherd PD after what he’d done for me and what we’d
Wolfie, a large, experienced general purpose been through together.”
dog who was incredibly loyal and gentle. Louise added: “Wolfie is a big dog and
After two years off work, the pair slowly got weighs in at 42kg. His injuries from the crash
onto their feet (and paws) and completed weakened him and now he really struggles
training again. with chronic arthritis. He’s front-loading his
“Wolfie and I were put together because weight because he’s getting weaker in his
my colleagues knew he would help me get back legs and that left his front legs painful;
back to work,” Louise said, “I didn’t have to he started chewing them off because it was
re-train with a young, boisterous dog which Loise McMullen and PD Wolfie. hurting so much. It was awful.”
would have added pressure to my already Wolfie, who was a finalist in the Kennel
struggling body and put more strain on my the car. I crawled out and managed to drag Club Friends for Life competition at Crufts
physical health. myself around to the boot to get him out. He 2020, now needs regular injections to help
“We have been together ever since and collapsed and I thought he was going to die.” manage the pain.
he has been the most incredible partner. We Louise had fractured her jaw and eye “I came across the Thin Blue Paw
had many successes and he went on to socket, and injured her wrist and spine. Foundation on social media and registered
qualify as a firearms support dog, one of the Wolfie, who turned nine this year, had been Wolfie right away,” Louise added. “Now he
highest achievements for a working dog. He thrown into the metal back of his cage on needs a £185 injection every month and
had many arrests, helped to find high-risk impact and suffered massive internal and that’s a considerable amount of money to
missing persons and had lots of incredible spinal injuries. Louise was taken to hospital find on top of all of his every day costs. The
finds during his career.” by ambulance while her colleagues rushed Thin Blue Paw Foundation came to my
In November 2018, the duo were chasing Wolfie to the vets. rescue and now he’s like a new dog; he’s
armed robbers who had used machetes and “Wolfie spent days at the veterinary jumping around like a kangaroo and moving
chainsaws to burgle a local shop when surgery heavily sedated to ease the pain and much better.
Louise’s car left the road. needed intensive hydrotherapy and support “It’s so amazing that the charity offers
“We skidded on wet leaves and hit a tree to help repair the nerves that had been support to dogs throughout everything. It’s
at 40mph,” she said, “I was knocked damaged in his rear end,” Louise explained. not going to be a worry now and I know that
unconscious and when I woke up the car was “He had to learn to walk again – just as I had I can make his life as good as it can be. It’s
on fire. My first thought was that Wolfie was only a few years earlier – and I was there by taken so much pressure off of us, as a family,
in the back; I had to get my partner out of his side every step of the way.” and it gives us – and Wolfie – the security we
“ husband, 14-year-old step-daughter and
need going forwards.”
I’m glad that others are now also speaking out
Louise, who lives in Worcester with her
and helping demystify ‘the c-word’.
nine-year-old son, spent 13 years as a dog
handler before being promoted to sergeant
this year.

32 federation December 2021/January 2022 www.polfed.org/westmids