About Us

Great North Service Dogs is a newly created regional dog welfare charity created with the purpose of providing financial support for retired police and fire service dogs from across the North East of England.

The charity has been founded by Dog Handler PC Tony Malessa and his Wife, Rona who both transferred to Northumbria Police in 2022. Upon transferring and realising there was no regional support for care after a dog's retirement they decided to resolve this and Great North Service Dogs was founded.

Many people are unaware that retired service dogs do not receive financial support in their retirement from the force they served with, meaning the responsibility for their care and vet bills fall solely to the person they retire with, whether this be their handler or a member of the public.

Ex-Service dogs do not qualify for veterinary insurance and as a result many are left with ongoing vet bills which can run into thousands of pounds. Great North Service Dogs will look to provide much needed financial support to these deserving canine heroes and their owners to enable them to have a long, healthy and happy retirement.  

The charity’s mission is to improve the quality of life for ex-service dogs in retirement by providing financial assistance to fund specialist care, support and rehabilitation whilst celebrating and raising awareness of the exceptional work these dogs do.

Everyday Police and Fire Rescue dogs are on the front line keeping us safe. From finding high risk missing people to catching violent offenders, they go above and beyond to provide an outstanding service to the communities in which they serve. They risk their lives so we can stay safe. Through our work we will also endeavor to raise awareness and celebrate the incredible achievements of these dogs both whilst in service and during retirement.

Whilst there are several national charities who support retired dogs, GNSD will be open to all retired Police or Fire Rescue Dogs from Northumbria constabulary or Tyne and Wear Fire Service who we work very closely with. We have joined 18 other charities across the country who are committed to supporting these fantastic animals.

As a newly created charity the trustees are working hard to attain registered charity status and we will keep you updated with the progress of this. All our updates can be found on our Instagram page @great_north_service_dogs

Any donations are very gratefully received and can be made via the Just Giving page –

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Great-north-service-dogs?utm_term=AzEyVbK4z

For any more information or to register as a volunteer with us please contact us via our email greatnorthservicedogs@outlook.com