Ned's Wish: A Cause For Heroes With Paws

My journey as a photographer for Ned's Wish started in February 2023 when I shared a post on social media for a photo session that I was conducting for K9 Veterans. My post was seen by a retired Toronto Police Service officer who reached out to me and directed me to contact Ned’s Wish to make enquiries if I could assist them in any way by photographing retired Canines for their fundraising calendar.

I followed his suggestion and this rewarding partnership began.

Ned’s Wish: A Cause For Heroes With Paws is a National Canadian Charity organisation, grass rooted in Alberta. It’s 100% volunteer run, with volunteers all across Canada who are committed to enhance the quality of life for these retired Canadian Law Enforcement, Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian Federal Parks Canines by providing financial support to assist with continued healthcare as well as education on the importance of caring for these retired heroes. Due to the demanding work these Canines do throughout their career, the families or the handlers, who were able to keep their retired canines, can be left with substantial and expensive health issues.

These families and handlers want their retired canines to live a long happy and healthy retirement, as on average, a working canine serves their community or country for about seven years, and their average life span can be between nine and twelve years.

Ned’s Wish is there to help the retired heroes live their best retirement.

So, who is Ned?

Ned was a Canine born in 2003 and worked for the RCMP from 2005 to 2010 in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba. Ned was trained in Explosives and General Detection, having completed his training in 20 days, when the course was 65 days in length.

Ned had an amazing record of apprehending criminals. He had such drive for his job, that on some of those occasions Ned almost lost is own life. Nearly drowning chasing a suspect into a fast-moving river but still got the “bad guy”. Ned and his handler were seriously hurt in a vehicle collision while responding to a call, when another vehicle ran a red light at a high rate of speed. Ned and his handler still managed to respond to the call and assisted in the apprehension the suspect. Ned broke a tooth on a Coast Guard boat, during rough seas. Ned never gave up tracking a suspect that tried to run him and his handler down in a stolen vehicle, even if it was for 20 kms over land and water.

Unfortunately, in Ned’s retirement, he required many trips to the vet for tests, treatment and surgeries, resulting in thousands of dollars being spent, due to some new and old work injuries that had resurfaced. Despite all that, Ned was still up for a walk, a car ride or playing with his Kong.

Ned crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2016, just before his 13^th birthday.

Through various fundraising events throughout the year and an annual fundraising calendar, Ned’s Wish is able to assist with vet expenses for injuries or illnesses,  and other expenses if prescribed and/or administered by a Canadian DVM, certain prescription food or prescription supplements and holistic or herbal treatments. Ned’s Wish also provides Mobility Aids such as dog wheelchairs, harnesses or ramps.

Some of the Canine Heroes I’ve Met and Photographed

PSD Arry

PSD Arry retired from the Chatham-Kent Police Service. He has won numerous competition awards in such disciplines as search, tracking, agility, criminal apprehension and obedience. Throughout his career, PSD Arry conducted over 700 hundred canine searches, 75 criminal apprehensions and thousands of dollars worth of drugs and  property recovered as well as numerous firearms.

PSD Blue

PSD Blue retired from the Toronto Police Service. PSD Blue was trained as a General Purpose and Human Remains Detection Canine. Of significant note in his career, PSD Blue assisted in providing closure to a family when he found the remains of a person, in a heavily wooded area, that had been missing for three years.

PSD Major

PSD Major retired from the Toronto Police Service. He was trained as a General Purpose and Human Remains Detection Canine. Of significant note in his career was when PSD Major located the remains of 8 victims and a massive amount of evidence that assisted in putting a serial killer behind bars.

PSD Jack

PSD Jack retired from the Stratford Police Service. During his career, PSD Jack received a Lifesaving Award for locating an unconscious person, in the middle of winter, who was in serious medical distress.

PSD Ivy

PSD Ivy retired from the Ottawa Police Service. She was trained in Explosives Detection with the Joint Explosives Unit where she assisted in conducting explosives sweeps of Parliament and other government facilities.

PSD Tank

PSD Tank retired from the RCMP in Ottawa. He worked in the Explosives Disposal Unit, where he performed preventative sweeps for explosives in Parliament Hill for the Prime Minister and other visiting Dignitaries.

PSD Skye

PSD Skye retired from the Toronto Police Service. She was trained in Narcotics and Firearms Detection. During her first week on the job, in the execution of a search warrant, PSD Skye located a large quantity of narcotics hidden behind a false wall.

PSD Hawk

PSD Hawk retired from the Durham Regional Police Service. He excelled in tracking as well as trained in Narcotics and Firearms Detection. PSD Hawk was so focused on his work, he would often track for great distances, through ravines, yards, busy roads, to assist in apprehending a suspect.

PSD Hemmi

PSD Hemmi retired from the Durham Regional Police Service. He was trained in Explosives and Firearms Detection. In his prime, PSD Hemmi was clocked running at a 51km/h. He was excellent at tracking that he assisted in locating an elderly person suffering from Alzheimer's, 1.5 km away from their home.

PSD Wodan

Regimental Wodan retired from the Canadian Armed Forces. His career included operational and training deployments abroad as a dual purpose Canine.

PSD Lonca

PSD Lonca retired from the Toronto Police Service. He was inducted into the Purina Animal Hall of Fame in 2016 for Bravery: while apprehending a suspect PSD Lonca was repeatedly hit in the head and neck by a machete, which resulted in receiving 5 stitches to his mouth and 2 staples to his front paw. The injuries PSD Lonca received is the reason these Canines now have vests to protect their bodies.

In conclusion

Ned’s Wish exists because most Law Enforcement Agencies simply do not have the resources in their budgets to provide retirement funding for their Canine partners. Through no fault of their own, many of these extraordinary Canines finish their years of service without the financial support they deserve. The role of Ned’s Wish is to help ensure that these Heroes are cared for in the retirement they have so selflessly earned.

To learn more about Ned’s Wish and all the Canadian Canine Heroes, visit their website nedswish.com

To help support these amazing Canines, donations are always welcome, through their website.