MEET

RPD Toby

Breed of dogLabrador

Location of servitudeBedfordshire Police

Type of serviceSearch & Detection

ConditionGastroenteritis

Grant amount received£8,000

  • Retired police dog Toby
  • Retired police dog Toby in the vets

HOW WE HELPED RETIRED POLICE DOG TOBY IN RETIREMENT

RPD Toby worked for Bedfordshire Police as a bomb detection dog, based at Luton Airport, for seven years before he retired in 2024.

He was adopted by Caitlin and Antony who’d been looking to rescue a Labrador for some time. They said: “A friend of ours worked at the airport and told us about Toby, and put us in touch with his handler. We met him and fell in love almost instantly!

“He’s a very handsome and loving boy, and he’s got a cheeky side too. We recently took him camping on the Isle of Wight and he loved it; his favourite thing was swimming in the sea.”

Toby had been settling into his new home for two months when he suddenly fell seriously ill and needed urgent treatment.

Retired police dog Toby with his owner
Retired police dog Toby in the vets

Caitlin said: “He was off his food and then started being sick. We took him to the vets and they gave him an anti-sickness injection and sent him home.

“We went back the following day and they gave him fluids, and we went back a few days later for an ultrasound.”

Toby was transferred to a specialist where they did a CT scan and placed an oesophagus feeding tube. He was admitted for round-the-clock care and eventually diagnosed with severe gastroenteritis.

The bill hit £8,000 and the Foundation stepped forward to help them with the costs as they’d not yet looked into insurance for their new pet.

Retired police dog Toby

“We’re so grateful to the Thin Blue Paw for their support for Toby; if it wasn’t for them we’d have had to have made a really difficult decision to have him put to sleep because we just don’t have that sort of money.”

Caitlin, Toby’s owner

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