After a remarkable career, the Humberside police dog that was shot three times when he tackled a wanted criminal for attempted murder has been given an award for lifetime achievement because of his heroic service. PC Ian Sweeney, the dog’s handler, calls Logan his “soulmate,” and he is one of the few dogs in the force’s history to have served for over seven and a half years without missing a single day of work.
Following his retirement in 2020 at the age of eight and a half years old, Logan was honored with the commendation during the Thin Blue Paw Awards, which took place on Thursday, September 22. Even though the brave dog was shot three times in the head and mouth, he managed to pull through his ordeal alive thanks to some sort of miracle. “Logan is my soulmate and I’m so proud of him for everything he’s achieved. Logan has assisted in hundreds of tracks and arrests, he’s saved countless lives, he’s helped to keep the peace at events and has kept the public safe”, Sweeney said, according to Daily Mail.
“This award is particularly special as it encompasses everything he’s done and I don’t think you ever really believe you’ll achieve something like that!” he said, adding, “It makes all the hard work so worthwhile. I still feel incredibly shocked, overwhelmed and overjoyed by it!”
When Logan joined the Humberside Police Department in January 2015 at the age of 10 months old from the South Yorkshire Police breeding program, it was reported that he had received no training at all. However, in 2017, he was approved to work as a firearms support dog.
PC Sweeney, who is now 52 years old and hails from North East Lincolnshire, has been a member of the police force for close to three decades, 13 of which have been spent working in the dog unit. “It usually takes around 13 weeks to train a general purpose police dog but Logan took only eight weeks before he was trained and licensed, and we hit the streets in May 2015!”, he said. “He was a natural with his scent detection and tracking, I’ve never known a dog like him. He had a faultless career; he was very diverse, and he always passed all of his assessments and never put a paw wrong. He was the dream dog.”
Kieran Stanbridge, a trustee for a charitable organization, said, “Logan spent more than seven years fighting crime, sniffing out the bad guys, helping to find vulnerable people, and keeping his community safe — his list of achievements is staggering. Logan who retired in May (2022) – has a long list of achievements making it easy for the Thin Blue Paw Awards judges to name him as the worthy winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award.”
After being involved in one of these encounters, Logan was shot multiple times in the head and mouth. But it turned out that the wounds were only superficial, so the veterinarian just cleaned the cuts and let them heal on their own. Thank goodness for that! After that, Logan was given the Heart of the Community Award in addition to the North East Region 2 National Bravery Award for his selfless service while on the job. Both of these awards were presented to him because of his dedication. During the ceremony, which was sponsored by Animal Friends Insurance, the German Shepherd was recognized for their service.
