Image of German Shepherd Dog with Thin Blue Paw logo, on illustrated banner background

Thin Blue Paw Foundation

Passionate about improving the health and welfare of serving and retired police dogs

We are proud to support serving and retired police dogs from across the United Kingdom. 

What we do

We are a national charity set up to support serving and retired police dogs. Every day dogs across the UK serve their country with courage, bravery and selflessness but receive little to no financial support in their retirement.

This means that the main costs of their care fall to the handler or their new owner, and with insurance to cover the dogs hard to find or excluding pre-existing conditions it can be expensive.

Unfortunately, this means that some dogs can’t be adopted by their handlers that they have been so used to working alongside and living with. Many handlers are then torn between providing their best friend with a long and happy retirement while being left with ongoing vet bills which can amount to thousands.

Protect

By influencing lawmakers, supporting campaigns such as #FinnsLaw and #FinnsLawPart2 and exploring ways to provide protective equipment to serving police dogs, we are working to provide greater protection to those who sacrifice so much.

Celebrate

These dogs go above and beyond to keep us all safe and provide an outstanding service to the communities in which they serve. We think they deserve to be celebrated. Through #ThinBluePawAwards, we shine a light on their incredible achievements both whilst in service and during their well-deserved retirement.

Rehabilitate

Once these dogs retire from active service, they receive no financial help from the force, so we have set up a fund to help cover the cost of medication, hydrotherapy and other treatments. We want to make sure these heroes can enjoy a long and happy retirement, one dog at a time.

a graphic depicting that we've donated more than £170,000 to thin blue paw

 

We currently have over 150 dogs registered with us and with this number growing we see more dogs needing funding for life-saving operations, therapy, treatment and medication.

The support from Animal Friends makes an incredible difference to the help we are able to provide while our dogs also benefit from easier access to vets, preventative care, and rehabilitative treatment through the Joii app. 

Find out how we can provide cover for retired police dogs with our policies.

How we’re helping in 2025

We're delighted to be supporting Thin Blue Paw’s incredible work at our events throughout 2025. We'll be welcoming them to our stands, helping to bring the inspiring tails of the hero dogs they work with to life.

On behalf of visitors to both Pawfest and Dogstival, we're delighted to announce that we will be donating £20,000 to Thin Blue Paw this year. This will help them continue to provide essential support and care for serving and retired police dogs across the UK.