Leicestershire Police dog who was injured while protecting his handler has been honoured with national bravery award

Police dog Astro with his handler PC Feavyour.

“I feel really lucky to have him by my side”

A police dog who was injured while protecting his handler during an incident has been honoured with a bravery award.

Four-year-old PD Astro, from Leicestershire Police, received the Outstanding Bravery Award at the Thin Blue Paw Awards – supported by Animal Friends Insurance – on Thursday September 22.

He and his handler, were announced as winners at a glittering awards ceremony, hosted by the Thin Blue Paw Foundation at Knebworth Park, in Hertfordshire.

PC Feavyour, 26, followed in both of her parents’ footsteps to join Leicestershire Police when she was just 19, before fulfilling her dream to become a dog handler in 2019. Little did she know that she’d later be matched with PD Astro, her four-legged partner, who she’d know since he was just eight-weeks-old!

She said: “My partner was on the dog section until he recently retired and he’d had Astro since he was just a puppy. It made it extra special to have him as my first police dog.”

German Shepherd Astro was one of Leicestershire Police’s first puppies from its breeding programme and was 12-months-old when he licensed with PC Feavyour in July 2019.

The general purpose and firearms support dog has always had a special bond with PC Feavyour – but really showed his loyalty when she was attacked on duty in November 2021.

She explained: “We were called to respond to an incident and arrested a man at the scene but when he resisted Astro leapt to defend me and was injured by the suspect. It was horrible to watch and I was so worried about Astro being hurt but, thankfully, he was okay.

“You can’t train for a real-life situation like that. There was so much going on and I had no idea how he’d react in that situation. Since then, I feel safer going out to work; I know that he’ll back me up no matter what.”

PD Astro – who lives at home with PC Feavyour, her partner, Dave, and their pet German Shepherd, Riggs – was named as the Best Operational Police Dog for Leicestershire in 2021. And now he can add the Thin Blue Paw accolade to his belt!

PC Feavyour said: “I’m so proud of him for winning this award; I wasn’t expecting it at all.

“He’s such a chilled dog but he’s always had that attitude. We took him away when he was only three-months-old and stayed in a yurt and he reacted to the noises he could hear outside. His heckles were up and he was barking; he’s always had that protective streak.

“But he’s also really sociable and knows how to switch off when he’s home. He’s a great all-rounded and is very focused.

“He learns really quickly too. My life is so easy with him; he just does what he needs to do – anything for his toy! He’s a great first police dog because he’s so steady; I feel really lucky to have him by my side.”

Inspector Cara Guest-Moore, from Leicestershire Police’s Tactical Dogs and Firearms Unit, said: “Grace and Astro are a formidable duo and become quite a crime fighting team. The loyalty Astro has for Grace has no bounds putting himself at risk to protect his handler."