Former military police dog Tomi that worked in Portsmouth undergoes life-saving surgery

A retired German Shepherd has had emergency surgery after falling ill.

Tomi served for six years with the Ministry of Defence Police on the south coast, until he retired in 2024. On his last day of work – at Portsmouth Dockyard – he went out in a RHIB to celebrate and even had a special doggy cake.

The nine-year-old was rushed to emergency vets on Monday morning and is being supported by Thin Blue Paw Foundation, a charity that supports retired police dogs with medical and rehabilitation costs.

Retired Police Dog (RPD) Tomi was adopted by his handler Molly Irving and her partner, also a dog handler, to live with them and their four working dogs in Southampton.

Worried about the costs of veterinary treatment without insurance, she registered him with the Thin Blue Paw Foundation. And this week Molly was forced to call on the charity for help when Tomi fell seriously ill.

She said: “Tomi was in boarding kennels as we were away for a break when the staff there contacted us to say they were worried he was suffering from bloat and they wanted to take him straight to the vets.”

On Monday, RPD Tomi was rushed into the vets for emergency life-saving surgery for bloat – or gastric torsion; a condition where a dog’s stomach twists and fills with gas or fluid. It can prove fatal if it isn’t caught and operated on quickly enough.

Molly added: “We jumped on the first train and rushed home from London to be with him. Vets said he needed emergency surgery; it was all such a worry. We contacted the Thin Blue Paw straight away to ask if they’d be able to help us with the costs as we’d been told it could cost thousands of pounds.”

The Foundation agreed to help and Tomi went straight into theatre. Molly said: “Tomi is doing as well as expected but the next few days will be touch and go; we’re just praying that he pulls through. We love him so much.”

RPD Tomi will remain in the veterinary clinic for 48 hours being closely monitored.

The Thin Blue Paw Foundation is a charity that supports and rehabilitates working and retired police dogs, helping owners access the best veterinary care.

Founder Kieran Stanbridge said: “Police dogs like Tomi give up the best years of their lives to serve the police and keep their communities safe. Many retire with health conditions caused by their years of service while others face unexpected health emergencies – like any pet can – without the peace of mind of insurance to help cushion the financial blow for their owners.

“We set up the foundation so we could be insurance for these canine heroes and the wonderful people who offer them homes for their retirements.

“Tomi needed surgery and he needed it immediately; we didn’t want his owners to worry about how they’d pay the bill in such a difficult time so we will be covering all the costs.

“But we can only do this for dogs like Tomi with the support of our incredible donors.”

The charity is now turning to the public to ask for donations to help cover the £4,000 bill. Since launching in 2020, the Foundation has supported more than 200 dogs with almost £500,000 worth of treatment.

Molly added: “We registered Tomi with the Thin Blue Paw because we’d heard such wonderful things about the charity, but we didn’t think we’d ever need to call on them for help. However, during one of the scariest times of our lives, the charity was there for Tomi and for us without hesitation and has amazingly agreed to pay for his treatment in full.

“We are so incredibly grateful for their support and it means one less thing for us to worry about so we can concentrate fully on what Tomi needs over the coming days and weeks.”

She added: “I am keeping everything crossed that he continues to improve and that we can get him home soon. Tomi had settled into retired life really well and loves spending his days walking very slowly around the forest while his evenings are spent lounging on the sofa and eating cheese!”

To donate to the charity see https://donate.thinbluepaw.org.uk/