The Metropolitan Police’s Dog Support Unit deployed approximately 40 dogs throughout London during the recent wave of riots. Supporting their handlers, they worked surrounded by fires, violence and looting, and in the melee, one of the first dogs on the scene was injured by a punk who threw a brick at it, fracturing it’s skull and taking it out of commission.
PC Phil Wells, Obi’s handler, said it was incredibly upsetting to see his partner injured. Amazingly, Obi worked for hours without complaint, battling crowds of thugs and helping to restore order until his handler noticed that he was hurt. Fortunately, despite multiple life-threatening skull fractures, the dog was eventually saved by vets who performed emergency surgery.
Obi is now recuperating at home and is expected to be out of action for months – but vets say he is a fighter, and is expected to make a full recovery.
