THE THIN BLUE PAW
Marvellous Milly
A busy cocker spaniel who spent six years using her inquisitive nature and super nose to sniff out cash, drugs and firearms now helps people in her retirement
Milly the cocker spaniel was just 10 months old when she joined Cheshire Police in April 2008 as a sniffer dog. When her original owners had a baby, they struggled to cope with her energy levels and gifted her to the police. She was trained as a cash, drugs and firearm detection dog and spent six years supporting police, helping find illegal items, and put criminals behind bars. But her amazing work didn’t end when she retired from the force – the friendly pooch has now gone on to support her new owner’s mental health. Book publisher and educational consultant Judith Hooley, 57, from Epsom, Surrey, adopted Milly in July 2014 when she retired. “Milly’s handler was one of the police dog trainers and is married to one of my best friends,” Judith recalled. “They asked if I’d be interested in taking her on when she retired.”
“I was surprised they asked me as I’d never had a dog before and had two cats, but my children had asked a million times if we could have a dog and I finally gave in,” she said. “I couldn’t think of any good reasons not to give her a forever home.” “I don’t do much exercise and have suffered with bouts of depression over the years, so I knew that having a lively spaniel would get me out walking and that exercising and being outdoors would be good for my mental health. I said ‘yes’ to
16 | POLICE | FEBRUARY 2022
adopting her and I’ve never looked back.” Judith spent the summer getting to know Milly and helping her to settle into retired life.
“I was worried at first that, as a drugs dog, she would be leaping wildly all over the furniture, but she was impeccably behaved in the house,” said Judith. “She was used to sleeping out in a kennel, so it took her a while to realise that the bed we’d got her was really hers. She soon
“I couldn’t think of any good reasons not to give her a forever home”
fell in love with her first toy and carried it everywhere with her.”
But Judith never could have imagined how much the spaniel would help with her mental health.
“Milly has given me more than I could ever imagine,” she admitted. “Milly has been my shadow and goes everywhere – and I mean everywhere – I go.” Judith says she is lucky that Milly has been a fit and healthy dog for most of her life but over the past year, she has started to show signs of slowing down. “She has a heart murmur and failing
kidneys, plus arthritis in her hips,” said Judith. Milly is
an ageing dog and she is unable to get pet insurance because of her working past, so Judith turned to new national dog welfare charity, the Thin Blue Paw Foundation, for help with vet bills. Before the charity was set up, police dogs did not receive financial support when they retired from the force, meaning the responsibility for their care and medical costs fall solely to their ex- handler or new owner.
As we went to press, Judith informed us that Milly sadly passed away at the age of 14. The Thin Blue Paw Foundation provides vital financial support to more than 280 unsung canine heroes and their owners to give them a long and happy retirement. You can make a donation at:
www.donate.thinbluepaw.org.uk
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