Former police officer shares passion for supporting retired service animals after adopting his own
A former police officer has shared his stance on the importance of supporting retired service animals after adopting one of his own in Northampton.
Scott Lovekin retired from the Metropolitan Police as a general response officer back in 2018 after 21 years of service, and he adopted retired police dog Pacer in January.
Pacer served for nearly eight years as a general purpose police dog and a firearms support dog. Due to his long service and the constant toll on his body, Pacer now has osteoarthritis.
Scott has faced “astronomical” vet bills, but Pacer’s care and treatment have thankfully been covered by charity Hero Paws – which supports military, police and all force dogs and their families in retirement and beyond.
Most recently, Pacer was diagnosed with a blocked intestine and the £4,000 surgery bill was covered by Hero Paws. Scott now wants to raise awareness of this remarkable charity and give back to show his gratitude for their ongoing support.
In order to do this, Scott is taking part in a 10 kilometre event in Milan in November in aid of Hero Paws. As well as this, he is running next year’s London Marathon for PDSA (The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals).
Scott also wants to raise awareness of the fact the government does not offer any financial support for retired service animals, and he believes a dog pension would be a suitable way to cover costs faced in retirement.
Instead, it is charities like Hero Paws who are footing 100 percent of the expense and Scott is passionate about seeing this issue in parliament to ensure retired animals are cared for. The Blue Paw Foundation is currently running a national campaign calling on the government to provide pensions for police dogs.
Hero Paws and The Blue Paw Foundation are two charities which cover 100 percent of all vet bills, to support individuals and families who have adopted retired service dogs.
Scott adopted Pacer in January and it was just half a year later in July when he started becoming ill.
“We took him to the vets and he had an internal blockage,” said Scott. “We can’t pay normal insurance as claiming wouldn’t cover the costs.
“Hero Paws step in and take care of all the bills. You don’t need to exchange any money and claim it back. It was taken care of with no stress or pressure, and now I want to give something back.”
Scott encourages more people to adopt retired service animals, as he wants them to know there is financial assistance provided by charities to cover any health issues.
With his two fundraisers coming up within the next six months, Scott was asked what it would mean if the Northampton community were to show their support and make a donation.
“It’d be amazing,” he said. “Every penny goes directly to the charities to fund vet bills, vet food, cremation costs and counselling families who have lost animals. It’d mean so much to me to give as much as I can to the charities.”
For anyone interested in adopting a retired service animal, you can fill out a form on the Hero Paws website and the team works hard to match the dogs with the most suitable home.