The National Foundation for Retired Service Animals is a registered charity (1200949) supporting retired dogs and horses from the police, fire, prison and border force services by helping with medical and veterinary bills, which inevitably occur as they get older.
When serving police/fire/prison/border force dogs and horses careers end, the financial support they have enjoyed whilst working, including food, kennels or stables, medical and veterinary requirements, training and equipment also comes to an end.
Unfortunately, meaningful insurance is almost impossible to obtain due to their age and training, and even if available, the premiums insurance companies charge for retired animals is incredibly high. This is obviously a serious worry for handlers who have their own financial obligations, and medical bills can be a real challenge.
As is widely acknowledged, the relationship between a handler and their working partner is second to none, and it is unthinkable that the pair may be broken up due to financial pressure. Unfortunately, this does often happen, and it causes great distress for the handlers, their families, and of course the animals themselves.
So, the NFRSA is there to help to ensure these wonderful animals can stay where they belong, with the families they love, as the years advance. It’s the least they deserve when they’ve devoted most of their lives to keeping us, the public, safe.
Our job, quite simply, is to ‘Protect Our Protectors’.
