MEET

RPD Kola

Breed of dogGerman Shepherd

Location of servitudeSurrey Police

Type of serviceGeneral Purpose

ConditionHip dysplasia

Grant amount received£550

  • Retired police dog Kola
  • Retired police dog Kola relaxes on the rug
  • Retired police dog Kola at the beach

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW WE HELPED RETIRED POLICE DOG KOLA

RPD Kola was bred by Surrey and Sussex Police as part of its breeding programme and passed her general purpose training course to license in February 2018.

She later qualified as a firearms support dog, too.

Her handler, Will Hewson, said: “Kola was an amazing tracking dog, regularly tracking long distances and, on one occasion, finding an impaired driver who had decamped for 6km before hiding in the brambles.”

Kola was diagnosed with hip dysplasia but hydrotherapy helped her to continue working until she retired in December 2024.

Will added: “Hydro greatly helped Kola; she probably had her greatest 12 months of tracking during that treatment!”

Retired police dog Kola with his chew toy
Retired police dog Kola relaxes on the rug

Will and his family adopted Kola on her retirement and she’s now enjoying a quieter pace of life.

Will said: “Kola has settled into retired life well, exchanging her tracking harness for the sofa! She particularly enjoys family holidays and her new freedom of exploring the country.”

The Foundation now supports Will with the cost of Kola’s hydrotherapy.

He added: “Hydrotherapy comes at a cost and, as a family, we supported our previous retired German Shepherd through this treatment.

“But with costs going up I would struggle to pay for Kola’s treatment now so I’m really grateful to the Foundation for supporting her.”

Retired police dog Kola at the beach

“The Thin Blue Paw is so important to enable handlers and people who take on retired dogs to continue to support them.“

Will, Kola’s former handler and owner

BENEFICIARIES OF OUR GRANTS

MORE BENEFICIARIES OF OUR GRANTS

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Help us with the costs to rehabilitate heroic retired police dogs once they leave the line of duty by sponsoring a dog to support their ongoing care and treatment.

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  • Sponsorship certificate
  • Photo of your sponsor dog
  • A cuddly German Shepherd teddy
  • Quarterly email updates on your sponsor dog
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