Heroic Nottinghamshire Police dog stabbed in the line of duty hangs up his lead

Police Dog Quantum has racked up more than 250 arrests during his six-year career with Nottinghamshire Police and has attended more than 1,000 incidents.

Despite being stabbed during an arrest in 2018, the seven-year-old German Shepherd later earned a national bravery award after taking down a machete-wielding suspect.

However, after a recent diagnosis of arthritis the decision has been taken to hang up Quantum’s lead and retire him from front-line service.

He will now live out his days with handler PC Jennie Ellse.

She said: “Quantum really is an amazing animal. He is the only dog I have had in my service and he really has taught me everything I know about dog handling.

“He’s really everything you would want from a police dog – dependable, loyal, reliable and absolutely fearless. He has never let me down and I really couldn’t have asked for a better wingman over the years.

“I am very sad to see him retire but I know the time is right for him. He recently suffered a shoulder injury after tracking a suspect over a considerable distance and went a bit lame. We found out he had arthritis and took the difficult decision to retire him from service.

“It was a hard decision to make but ultimately it’s about ensuring that he has the greatest possible quality of life in his remaining years.”

As a general-purpose animal police dog, Quantum was tasked with using his mouth and his nose to keep the public safe – sniffing out suspects, chasing down criminals and guiding officers to missing people.

Another example of his heroism came in 2020 when he helped to detain a violent criminal at Nottingham train station who’d already assaulted several officers.

PC Ellse added: “This was a dangerous and violent criminal who had already knocked a female officer unconscious. He was determined to escape and me and Quantum were the last line of defence.

“He armed himself with a plank of wood and hit Quantum around the head, which did phase him for a second, but he still managed to grab hold of him and detain him. I think that offender saw a female officer and a dog and thought he could get the better of us.

“Thanks to the incredible bravery Quantum showed that day he soon realised he’d made a mistake.

“Being a dog handler is a role I can't really explain to anyone. It's my dream job and something I have wanted to do since I was a little girl. I can't really explain that its not just a job it’s a vocation, something that requires commitment, passion and hours of training.

“To have your best mate behind you on your shoulder, watching your every move and being there when things go wrong and things turn nasty, which they have to me a number of times. He’s been my back up and he has never ever let me down and I will always be grateful to him for that.”