Finn (dog)  Finn is a German Shepherd and retired police dog of the Hertfordshire Constabulary in England. In October 2016, Finn and his handler confronted a youth who was suspected of being armed; both the dog and the police officer were stabbed with a large knife. The dog required emergency surgery, but he returned to duty eleven weeks later. The case received widespread media coverage and initiated a popular campaign to improve legal protection for animals in public service, resulting in a 2019 act of parliament known as "Finn's Law". On 5 October 2016, Finn's handler, PC Dave Wardell, operating with the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Police Dog Unit, was called to an incident in Stevenage where there was a search for a male suspect, believed to be armed. PC Wardell and Finn located the suspect who ran off. After a shouted warning, PC Wardell released Finn and the dog seized the youth's leg as he was attempting to escape over a fence. Falling on the ground together, the suspect stabbed the dog in the chest with a large knife, before making a second attack in which he slashed the dog's head and PC Wardell's hand. Despite this, Finn retained his grip on the suspect, enabling PC Wardell to disarm the youth. When other officers arrived, Finn was taken to a veterinarian and then on to a specialist where he received emergency surgery in which part of his lung was removed. PC Wardell later received medical treatment for a hand injury. Finn recovered from the attack and returned to duty eleven weeks later, before retiring due to age, shortly before his eighth birthday in March 2017. In May 2017 at Stevenage Youth Court, a 16 year-old boy from Lewisham in south London was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm for the attack on PC Wardell, but could only be convicted of criminal damage for stabbing the dog. He was later sentenced to eight months' detention in a Young Offender Institution. Finn's case highlighted the limited legal sanctions available against those who injure animals being used by the emergency services. An online petition on the UK Parliament petitions website for a "Finn's Law" attracted more than 127,000 signatures, resulting in the Sentencing Council recommending that in future, similar events should be treated as an "aggravated offence" rather than criminal damage. However, PC Wardell's Member of Parliament, Sir Oliver Heald, took the matter further by proposing a private member's bill, the Animal Welfare (Service Animals) Bill, which was debated in the House of Commons on 5 December 2017.