A retired police dog who survived ‘against all the odds’ after being rescued in Telford, has been honoured with a top national award for her six years of service in Surrey and Sussex.

Belgian Malinois RPD Fiji was named winner of the Thin Blue Paw Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award at a special ceremony, hosted by TV presenter Radzi Chinyanganya, in London, this week.

The 12-year-old joined Surrey Police in 2013 as a four-month-old puppy after being rescued when her owner tragically took their own life. Her mum and siblings where all taken to a rescue centre in Telford, before Fiji joined Surrey and Sussex Joint Dog Unit, when instructor PC Jamie Steward, found her.

After a few months with a police family who prepared her for training, Fiji was matched with handler PC Claire Bird, who had just returned from maternity leave.

PC Bird said: “Fiji was lucky to have been found after her owner tragically took their own life. A rescue centre took her in with her mum and littermates, and Fiji and her brother came to us for training after they displayed potential.

“Fiji had an incredible drive and brilliant intuition and joined me at nine-months-old to train as a general purpose dog. I’d just returned from maternity leave so Fiji was around the same age as my daughter, it felt like it was meant to be.

“I feel lucky to have had the chance to be her partner in fighting crime for six years; she was a truly exceptional police dog.”

Fiji had to retire early when, in 2019, she pulled the ligaments in her leg jumping for a toy. PC Bird, 48, and her family adopted her to live out her days as their pet in West Sussex.

‘Once-in-a-lifetime dog’

She said: “Fiji has had an exceptional career and has been a real credit to the police force. She has saved countless lives, including those of vulnerable people, missing persons, and those struggling with their mental health.

“Fiji could be calm and gentle when she needed to, but she also knew the times she needed to switch on the bark and get violent, aggressive and dangerous individuals to surrender. She also protected me during serious and violent incidents; had I not had her by my side, I may not have returned home safely to my family.

“Every dog I’ve had the pleasure of working with has been special, but there is something about Fiji that has made her a once-in-a-lifetime dog and partner. I’m so proud of her, and wouldn’t be without her.”

Claire and Fiji attended the Thin Blue Paw Awards ceremony – held at the Kennel Club, in London, on Wednesday (24th September) – to receive their award from entrepreneur and star of Dragon’s Den, Jenny Campbell.

The awards are held annually by the Thin Blue Paw Foundation, a charity that supports, protects and celebrates working and retired police dogs across the UK.

Kieran Stanbridge, Chairman of the Thin Blue Paw, said: “Fiji has had an astounding career; she’s helped catch criminals, she’s saved lives, she’s helped get dangerous weapons off our streets and also located stolen property. But she’s also had a huge impact on Claire’s life, and really made a difference in her local community.

“We were lost for words when we read through all of the jobs she’d worked on, and the life-changing impact she’d had on so many people. She is a very worthy winner of this award, and we’re incredibly proud to support her now she’s retired.”

Relentlessly strong

RPD Fiji – who was also trained as a firearms support dog – received two Chief Constable’s Commendations during her career, which included countless memorable jobs, including:

  • Saved the life of a missing man who had threatened to harm himself and was found, seriously unwell, in the nick of time;
  • Located personal items (including a passport) of a suspect who’d broken into a flat and stabbed two people sleeping inside, enabling officers to trace and arrest him;
  • Quickly found a woman in the woods who had collapsed after trying to harm herself and enabled first aid to be administered, saving her life;
  • Helped trace a vulnerable dementia patient who had been spotted wandering around a lake at a golf club and helped lead her to hospital;
  • Tracked a violent individual who’d attacked a member of the public and police officers (despite the use of CS gas), detaining him until he could be arrested;
  • Tracked and detained two men, armed with baseball bats and hammers, who had tried to break into a property, as well as locating stolen property such as a wallet and two mobile phones;
  • Traced a woman who had been threatening to take her life and running into traffic on the road, Fiji found her drifting in and out of consciousness in undergrowth and ensured she got medical help quickly;
  • Helped calm the situation and detain a bloodied woman who was wielding a 7in knife in the street and threatening to harm herself so she could be sectioned and receive the help she needed;
  • Helped to disperse 50 people from a private woodland and quarry site where a crowd of approximately 150 were trespassing;
  • Located a large meat cleaver that a man had been armed with in the street, following his arrest;
  • Helped find a victim’s keys after she’d been attacked, meaning she could use her car to safely get herself home;
  • Tracked one mile to the middle of the woods to locate a £6,000 quad bike that had been stolen from the back of a trailer;
  • Helped to find a vulnerable missing person who fled home in bare feet in just his pyjamas;
  • Located a vulnerable missing woman who was wrapped in barbed wire and helped get her to hospital;
  • Managed the scene after a number of people suspected of border offences were located in the back of a lorry on the M25;
  • Traced a vulnerable man and administered first aid after he called police threatening to take his own life to administer first aid;
  • Protected PC Bird when a suspect who had been trying to get into his ex-partner’s home tried to punch her, biting him in the arm so he could be detained;
  • Tracked a vulnerable missing person who had injured herself with a knife and taken an overdose, meaning she received quick medical treatment and survived;
  • Responded to a burglary and helped to locate a bag full of gold jewellery stolen from the home;
  • Helped support firearms officers after a man pointed a sawn-off shotgun at police during a drugs warrant.

PC Bird added: “Fiji has survived against all the odds, on countless occasions. She is relentlessly strong and, even at her age, the vets are always impressed by her strength.

“Not only was she lucky to be found alive and well following the awful death of her owner, she has gone on to battle two potentially fatal conditions in her retirement and – thanks to the support of the Thin Blue Paw, which has paid her huge vet bills – she’s pulled through both times.

“As soon as I met Fiji I knew our bond was special; we’ll stay by each other’s sides through her retirement. I’m so proud that she has been able to serve, protect and save lives, and I’m so proud to have been able to make a difference with her.

“This award is for our whole force who, every day, work so tirelessly to do the job we do.”

Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp said: “For PC Claire Bird and her Belgian Malinois RPD Fiji to be awarded with the Thin Blue Paw Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award is a huge honour, not just for them, but for Surrey Police and Sussex Police as a whole.

“PD Fiji has had an exceptional career and has been a real credit to both Surrey and Sussex during her six years’ service. Not only has she has saved lives, but she has also played a significant part in apprehending some dangerous and violent criminals

“They are extremely worthy recipients of this award and we are extremely proud of them both.”

The charity – which was founded in 2020 to ensure retired police dogs can access the best in veterinary care – supports Fiji with her monthly £300 injection to manage uncomfortable itchy skin and provide pain relief.

The Foundation also stepped in to pay the bills when, in 2023, Fiji fell seriously ill with pyometra (a bacterial infection of the uterus), and earlier this year, when she needed emergency surgery for gastric torsion (where the stomach twists and fills with air or fluid).

  • For help and support, contact Samaritans on 116 123.