PC whose hero police dog who jumped in front of petrol cannon to protect officers says the canine also saved his life in the ‘darkest moments’ when his mental health was declining
- PC Gareth Greaves, from Manchester, met German Shepherd Theo at 14-weeks
- Ten-year-old Theo is one of the most decorated police dogs in the country
- Gareth told his ‘loyalty knows no bounds’ and he ‘saved him in dark moments’
A police officer whose police dog who jumped in front of petrol cannon to protect him says the canine saved his life in ‘darkest moments’ .
PC Gareth Greaves, from Manchester first met German Shepherd Theo, one of the most decorated police dogs in the country, when he was a 14-week-old puppy, and since then the pair have been inseparable.
The animal has not only saved his life in a physical sense, protecting him and other officers from a petrol cannon in 2016, but also gave him a new lease of life when is mental health was declining.
Father-of-two Gareth told on This Morning that at his lowest he was struggling to deal with grief and the pressures of work, but was ‘brought back to base line’ by Theo and his two children.
PC Gareth Greaves, from Manchester (pictured) first met German Shepherd Theo (pictured) , one of the most decorated police dogs in the country, when he was a 14-week-old puppy
Father-of-two Gareth told on This Morning that at his lowest he was struggling to deal with grief and the pressures of work
He said: ‘One of the major problems with men and police officers is we don’t discuss our mental health, and we are human.
‘I’ve been struggling along time, a lot was going on in my life a lot of pressures. I’d lost a lot of people and my life had changed, the pressures of work were very difficult.
‘We struggle all the time and at my darkest moment, I always thought about my two children obviously, that would always bring me back to base line.
‘But one of the fundamental factors was that night when I left home, if I didn’t return home, who would let him out? Who would feed him?
He told hosts Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes (pictured) he was ‘brought back to base line’ by Theo and his two children
Later this month, Gareth will release book ‘My Hero Theo’ which details Theo’s police career following his retirement earlier this year
‘He’s always been there for me, 100 per cent. They’re very special animals and society can learn a lot from them.’
Theo and Gareth were chasing a man who has stabbed a woman and shown intent to harm his children at the end of a night shift in 2016.
At the scene there were two officers were remaining a distance away from the agitated man, who was armed with a petrol cannon and a knife.
After the man launched the cannon Theo launched himself in front of the officers, and while still on fire chased after the man who was still carrying his knife and latched onto his leg with his teeth.
‘He tackled an individual armed with a petrol cannon and a knife’, explained Gareth.
Theo is now retired, but that doesn’t stop him wanting to go out into the Line of Duty and Gareth explained he has to ‘sneak out of the house’ so Theo doesn’t think he’s going to work
‘He put himself in the way and he ended up being set on fire and even when he was on fire came back and defended us all. His loyalty knows no bounds’.
Theo is now retired, but that doesn’t stop him wanting to go out into the Line of Duty and Gareth explained he has to ‘sneak out of the house’ in his uniform, so that his dog doesn’t know he’s going to work.
When asked how police dogs know they’ve retired, Gareth said: ‘They don’t at first, he doesn’t know he’s retired.
‘I have to sneak out, if he sees me in uniform he thinks he’s going to work. It’s a horrible feeling seeing him looking at the window.’
Later this month, Gareth will release book ‘My Hero Theo’ which details Theo’s police career following his retirement earlier this year.
‘Theo has been an amazing police dog, said Gareth, ‘I never thought I would be here talking to yourselves. He’s saved me and many people and it just shows how special dogs are.’