Crufts 2025: Essex Police dog Baloo up for hero award
A police dog who survived life-changing injuries after being hit by a car fleeing a crime scene could be within a chance of winning a prestigious Crufts award.Baloo was retired from Essex Police in 2018 after extensive surgery to rebuild her pelvis - she also had to have her right foreleg amputated. The eight-year-old Belgian Malinois has been unveiled as one of the finalists in The Kennel Club's Hero Dog 2025, ahead of the winner being crowned at next month's Crufts dog show.Her owner, retired police dog handler Mandy Chapman, said she was "very honoured and overwhelmed" that Baloo had been shortlisted.
Ms Chapman, from Chelmsford, adopted Baloo a couple of months after she was injured, supporting her rehabilitation and taking her to visit police staff in the control room once she had started to recover.The pair then received requests from across Essex Police to visit officers and other staff members, eventually expanding their visits to schools, care homes, Guides and Scout groups and countless other community organisations.
Ms Chapman said Baloo has not let her disability get in the way of living her life. She added that she thought her pet might want "a quiet retirement but Baloo thought otherwise"."It is so amazing to think your dog has helped somebody. It is really lovely sharing her - she spreads smiles," she added. Ms Chapman said she goes to Crufts every year and was really excited to have Baloo in the spotlight this year."To think she will be in the arena is so incredible," she said.Bill Lambert, spokesperson for Crufts, said: "Baloo exemplifies why dogs are known as 'man's best friend', and we urge those in Essex and beyond to vote and show their support for this extraordinary dog and her unwavering loyalty and bravery."Baloo is shortlisted as the finalist in the Extraordinary Life of a Working Dog category of the Hero Dog 2025 award.
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