Retired police dog helping owner living with chronic illness
Donja, a seven-year-old German Shepherd, served with the Ministry of Defence Police for three-and-a-half years before being retired early due to spondylosis, a degenerative spinal condition.
The former general-purpose police dog spent its career patrolling MoD sites including RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, and also supported operations with Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Police.
PC Ash Collins, who worked alongside Donja, said: "Donja was intelligent, intuitive and demonstrated great problem-solving skills, and she was brilliant at tracking.
"She was wonderful at her job and a fabulous partner to have."
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Retired police dog Donja has been helping its owner Heidi Collins, living with a chronic illness. (Image: Thin Blue Paw Foundation) Since retirement, Donja - or Donna Kebab as her family affectionately call her - has lived with PC Collins and his wife Heidi at their home in Wiltshire, where she has become an unexpected source of comfort.
Heidi Collins, 40, said: "Donna has been such a comfort and support while I've been struggling with my own chronic illness.
Heidi lives with endometriosis, fibromyalgia and polycystic ovary syndrome.
"I had to leave my job in veterinary medicine to work from home due to the decline in my physical health.
"Donna always knows when I'm having a flare-up, sometimes even before I do.
"She won't leave my side and insists on following me, keeping a close eye on me, and laying by my side when I'm feeling unwell."
Donja was retired early due to a degenerative spinal condition. (Image: Thin Blue Paw Foundation) The Thin Blue Paw Foundation, a charity supporting retired police dogs, now helps cover the cost of Donja's medication and provides free food through a partnership with Barking Heads.
Kieran Stanbridge, chairman of the Thin Blue Paw Foundation, said: "Donja spent years working hard as a police dog, supporting the Ministry of Defence.
"But even in retirement she's continued to do so much, now for her owner, Heidi.
"Their relationship shows how wonderful dogs can be for our mental and physical health.
"And after everything Donja has done, it's only fair that she gets to enjoy her retirement pain-free.
"We're proud that we can be there to help support her, so she can continue to support Heidi."
Donja now enjoys long walks, playtime and plenty of rest, with a bed on every floor of the family's townhouse.
Heidi said: "Even on my hardest days, I feel so lucky to have Donja with me."
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Sanofi is listed on EURONEXT: SAN and NASDAQ: SNY Media RelationsSandrine Guendoul | +33 6 25 09 14 25 | Evan Berland | +1 215 432 0234 | Léo Le Bourhis | +33 6 75 06 43 81 | Victor Rouault | +33 6 70 93 71 40 | Timothy Gilbert | +1 516 521 2929 | Léa Ubaldi | +33 6 30 19 66 46 | Investor RelationsThomas Kudsk Larsen | +44 7545 513 693 | Alizé Kaisserian | +33 6 47 04 12 11 | Felix Lauscher | +1 908 612 7239 | Keita Browne | +1 781 249 1766 | Nathalie Pham | +33 7 85 93 30 17 | Tarik Elgoutni | +1 617 710 3587 | Thibaud Châtelet | +33 6 80 80 89 90 | Yun Li | +33 6 84 00 90 72 | Sanofi forward-looking statementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements include projections and estimates regarding the marketing and other potential of the product, or regarding potential future revenues from the product. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words 'expects', 'anticipates', 'believes', 'intends', 'estimates', 'plans', and similar expressions. Although Sanofi's management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Sanofi, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. 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