North East Herts MP Sir Oliver Heald MP has expressed his sadness at the death of Police Dog Finn aged 14 years.

Finn was Hertfordshire's most successful Police Dog and became famous after he was stabbed on duty, but there was no penalty passed because of the then state of the Law.

PC Dave Wardell was Finn's handler who started the campaign for a change in the Law and Sir Oliver Heald MP as Dave's local MP successfully took a Private Member's Bill through the House to enable prosecutions under the Animal Welfare Act, where police dogs and other service animals are attacked.

Oliver met Dave and Finn on many occasions and the dog attended every session in parliament when the Animal Welfare(Service Animals) Bill was discussed. Finn woofed as the Bill passed its final stage in the House of Lords, where local Lord Trenchard was the sponsor.

Commenting Oliver said:

"Finn was a special dog and had great heart. This is a sad day. It was amazing that he survived the terrible attack on him. I and a number of other MPs were lucky enough to meet him and he was always very patient with all the attention. He has left a real legacy, because we now have the laws we need to tackle violence against service animals.

I saw Finn last year with Dave Wardell and family in Buntingford and he was on good form. My thoughts are with Dave and Gemma and the family at this difficult time.

Finn won the highest awards for animal bravery and the public took him to their hearts."