There was some true Christmas spirit recently as a homeless man living in London showed his generosity by giving police officers a Christmas card and gift after they saved his injured dog.
The three officers named Lou Richards, Claire Twig and Holly Hine were thanked by the homeless individual Darren Thornton after they helped save his two year old Rottweiler Rocco who was injured in West Hampstead on 19 December. It is believed that Darren’s beloved pet had been run over and was suffering from an injury to his hind leg. The kind police officers who were carrying out their routine patrol quickly tracked down a local vet who came to the scene and treated the injured Rocco free of charge.
An overwhelmed Darren who was so grateful for the police’s help decided to send a box of chocolates and a Christmas card addressed to ‘Three Angels’ to the police horses’ stables three days later. The welcome gift just happen to arrive on PC Richards’ last day with the Met before retirement, who was clearly touched by Darren’s gesture saying, “This means more to me than anything else I’ve done in my career.”
Meanwhile PC Cath Anson of the Met’s mounted branch said: “Darren used to be a dog walker and walked Rocco on behalf of an elderly lady, until she moved into a care home and Darren became Rocco’s owner. Since then the two of them have been inseparable and it has meant a lot to Darren that our officers were able to ensure Rocco received the care he needed. Life is pretty tough for Darren at the moment and it is really heartwarming to see local officers and residents coming together to help out.”