Police dog reunited with foster carers after decade

A couple who fostered a police puppy when he was just six weeks old have been reunited with the dog a decade later.

The German Shepherd lived with Jackie and Dave Macdonald in Birmingham after they volunteered to foster police puppies following the death of their son, Glenn.

The family collected Nipper in March 2016 after seeing an appeal for people to foster police puppies in training in the news.

After serving as a police dog for seven years, he was adopted by police officers Ella and Dan, based in Norwich, who took Nipper for a long awaited catch up with the Macdonald family.

Jackie, 63, said Nipper was "tiny, bundle of fluff" when her family first started looking after him.

"It had been a dark time in our lives after losing our son, Glenn, suddenly a few years before," Jackie added. "We were struggling with the loss.

"I felt this was something I could do to help and applied without telling Dave or our daughter, Laura!

"We had no idea then what impact he would have on our lives and how broken our hearts would be when he was called back to begin his training and go to work.

"Time moved on and then, without warning, a phone call came out of the blue - it was time for us to give him back. We didn't want to give him back, he had given us so much joy."

The family began preparing Nipper for his life as a police dog, taking him out to different locations and exposing him to different experiences.

"We prayed he would fail his training and come back to us, but he passed and started his job as a police dog," said Jackie, who said a quest to find out what happened to Nipper had "cast a sad shadow" over their lives.

Then, one day, she said her daughter found a post online about Nipper on the Thin Blue Paw Foundation website.

Nipper had joined Suffolk Police as a general-purpose dog in 2017, at the age of one, before moving to Norfolk Police.

He retired in 2024, when he was adopted by police officers Ella and Dan, who had met him while working.

Unable to insure him, the couple registered him with the Thin Blue Paw Foundation, a charity that supports retired police dogs and their owners to ensure they can always access veterinary care when needed.

Ella said: "We met Nipper a few months before he was due to retire and fell in love with him. We knew we wanted to take him home as our own.

"An incredibly brave and once scary police dog, he adapted wonderfully to his new life and follows us everywhere, even to bed!"

The two police officers took Nipper to meet the Macdonald's rescue dog Molly, for a long walk and a leisurely lunch in May.

"Ten long years and we finally got our happy ever after," Jackie said. "We got the reunion we always wanted.

"We will forever be grateful for that lovely day."

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