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Britain’s bravest police dog who was stabbed in the line of duty has visited Heathfield School with his handler to discuss the role of police animals, perseverance and resilience.

Britain’s bravest police dog who was stabbed in the line of duty has visited a school with his handler to discuss the role of police animals, perseverance and resilience.

Eight-year-old German Shepherd Finn was stabbed with a 10-inch blade when tackling a suspect in October 2016. His handler PC Dave Wardell has campaigned since then to make it an offence to harm or abuse an animal in the line of duty.

So called Finn’s Law became law in April this year.

The pair were at Heathfield School in Ascot on Thursday, 23^rd May to chat to the pupils and to say an extra special thank you for the use of their stage to practise their act for Britain’s Got Talent.

Finn and PC Wardell wowed the judges even bringing a tear to the eye of Simon Cowell with their dog show/magic act – they will find out today (25^th May) if they have made it to the finals.

Girls at Heathfield watched a video of the performance, heard about the incident in which Finn was stabbed and about PC Wardell’s attempt to get the law passed.

The duo were joined at the school by PC Wardell’s former colleague and officer Sebastian Ellis. They both spoke about facing adversity, the importance of resilience and perseverance, careers in the police force and how to become a dog handler.

The session was finished with a demonstration of how scent tracking works.

PC Wardell said it was lovely coming back and being able to say thank you for the use of the stage. He added: “I really enjoyed sharing my story with a younger audience that that found at the House of Parliament! It was a pleasure too, to take questions on dogs, my career and dealing with the Government.”

Headmistress Marina Gardiner Legge said: “Standing up to adversity, perseverance and resilience are important qualities we work to instil in our girls.

“PC Wardell had an extremely moving story to tell and we were delighted he, Sebastian and Finn were able to share it with us.”