Even now Dave Wardell will make himself toast with peanut butter in the morning and automatically reach down to give his retired police dog Finn a bite.
He goes silent, struggling with a wave of grief, then begins to cry. “But he isn’t there,” he says, finally. “It’s the little things,” he adds, explaining even now, seven weeks after the animal’s death, he easily becomes emotional. German shepherd “Fabulous Finn” became one of Britain’s most famous dogs after he saved Dave’s life when the pair were both stabbed by a suspect wielding a hunting knife.
Despite being knifed twice, Finn refused to let go of the assailant or abandon Dave, pulling the attacker back and coming close to death himself. Finn was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal, which is known as the animal George Cross, after the attack in 2016. Dave, 47, later campaigned for “Finn’s Law”, which was brought into effect to better protect service animals. It prevents those who attack or injure them from claiming self-defence.
Finn became a national hero, appearing on Britain’s Got Talent and Daily Mirror Animal Hero of the Year. On the morning of July 28, Dave, from Hertfordshire, woke as usual to look down at his sleeping dog in his basket beside the bed, but realised he was gone. The shock was huge, Finn was 14, but had not been ill.
Pair on skijet in AmericaDave says: “Our relationship was wonderful, it was like no other. I’m happily married, have amazing children, but Finn and I spent every moment of every day with each other, he was my shadow. A dog sees you differently and understands things about you. You can’t kid a dog, they know if you’re struggling. I have lost my parents, close friends, other pets, but ….” Dave breaks down again. “Our dogs are family members, the problem is they don’t live long enough.”
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He feels so strongly he cannot be parted from Finn’s ashes. Dave adds: “He had lots of favourite places. But there was only one place he ever really wanted to be and that was with me. So when my time comes he will come in with me and then we can stay together.” Many will understand the intense grief that follows losing a pet, but for Dave his bond with Finn was all the stronger because they had worked together in often dangerous situations, from 2010 up until the dog’s retirement three months after the attack. He then continued to live with him.
As we speak, he reveals the enormity of the loss has prompted him to make a life-changing decision. Dave is quitting the police after more than 20 years, and he and his family are moving to Cornwall to run the German Shepherd Rescue Elite centre. Finn became its patron and his death pushed Dave to dedicate his life to the dogs he loves.
He says: “What happened to Finn has helped me make the decision. Life is for living, it is too short. Finn taught me to live in the moment, and enjoy every moment. I will be working hard to try to give those dogs a better life and I have to thank Finn for that. He will be there in my heart. It is now about making sure people remember his story.”
Finn was a puppy of nine months when he was given to Dave, who had just become a police dog handler. He says: “The first day he grabbed my trouser leg and dragged me round the car park. He came with a reputation of being mischievous but you often find with police dogs the more mischievous they are the better at the job they are. His puppy handler says he was by far her naughtiest but they loved him the most.
Dave and Finn out on patrol
Daughter India with dog and photo“He had a cheeky side. He would pinch my sandwiches if I left them in reach.” However Finn quickly proved himself at the job. Within the first couple of months he reacted brilliantly during a mass brawl of around 200 at a nightclub. Dave recalls: “He did lots of shouting and bit a few . He showed me he had what it took to make sure I went home safely every night. We became reliant on each other, we needed each other.”
Finn’s career could have ended early thanks to a knee injury, but Dave stepped in to learn the basics of physiotherapy and taught him to swim for more than an hour at a time, which contributed to his ongoing strength. He adds: “And then we swam together everywhere. That was a really big moment in our bond. For him to trust me to teach him to swim.”
After the campaign for Finn’s Law the pair even flew to Florida to talk to law enforcement there. And they took the opportunity to swim together off the Florida coast. Not to mention jet ski…and later, for charity, abseil, too. What still amazes Dave about Finn’s response during the attack which was to change both their lives, was that Finn, although gravely injured, remained with him.
On October 5, 2016, Finn was stabbed after grabbing the leg of a teenage suspect trying to scale a fence. The blade narrowly missed his heart. Dave was stabbed in the hand, but Finn stopped the attacker striking again until back-up arrived. Dave adds: “When an animal is injured like that the first thing they do, usually, is take care of themselves, run off and find a corner. He did not do that even though he had been stabbed through the lungs and the top of the head.”
And in the days and weeks afterwards, Finn continued to care for Dave, always there when he woke in the night with flashbacks. Dave suffers PTSD and his nightmares have returned since Finn’s death. When the dog was stabbed the attack was regarded as criminal damage to property in the eyes of the law. His law has now changed that, and given many service animals proper justice.
Pair on This Morning show in 2019 (Ken McKay/ITV/REX)Finn was also made an ambassador for the Thin Blue Paw Foundation, a charity that supports retired police dogs. Dave says: “Finn would bristle when he got an award, when he had people making a fuss. He could sense when his dad was happy and proud of him. I like to think he knew how special he was.”
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His favourite times, however, always remained at the beginning and end of every day. With Dave. He adds: “First thing in the morning and last thing at night, he just wanted cuddles. He would roll on to his back to be tickled or bury his face in you. That was quite a thing for a predator to do. He would completely relax, and become the biggest cuddle monster.”
* To find more about German Shepherd Rescue Elite visit gsrelite.co.uk.
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