Fancy & Inspector Fourie
Recently Medipet had the privilege of being invited to become a part of Fancy’s legacy. Fancy, the sable shepherd, was part of the Kzn Metro Police Outreach Program, and handled much of their PR work by visiting schools, retirement homes and hospitals to raise awareness of police matters, increase public safety, and to encourage the relationship between the Metro Police and the general public. Fancy taught everyone she met that police K9 dogs were not all aggressive, her calm and sweet nature reassured many that these special animals are vital in the role the police play in protecting the citizens of our country.
Her handler Inspector Jacques Fourie shares her story with us (along with some of Fancy’s news articles).
“Fancy was a Sable Shepherd, a donation to the Metro Police and was left in the kennels in a bad shape.
I asked management if I could look after her in the meantime as I did not want her to stay in such a awful place.
I could see that she could never be a Patrol Dog in the Dog Unit as she was not aggressive at all. She was a very friendly dog with the sweetest nature ever.
I started working with Fancy in the Public Relation Section as a Service/Show Dog to educate the public/children that not all Police Dogs are Aggressive and just want to bite people and that Fancy is very friendly and loves people.
In 2012 we went to a Pre School in Waterfall to visit a 4 year old boy who had a Brain Tumour and his mom told him if he goes for the chemo treatment he can play with a friendly Police Dog called Fancy.The boy had a wonderful time with Fancy and all his little friends were very happy. Today this little boy is in a normal school doing very well.
From there Fancy went all over from Pre Schools, Primary Schools, Special Needs Schools, to sick children in Hospitals, Children & Adults with mental and physical disabilities, Old age homes, Frail care units, Reach for a dream, CANSA and the Hillcrest Aids Centre.
Fancy went into the children’s ward to visit a very sick little girl. (Article in the Daily News) and a sick boy that was taken to the police van with a wheelchair.(Article in The Independent on Saturday)
Fancy became well known in the greater Durban area as the Friendly Police Dog in Durban Metro Police.
Sadly Fancy got cancer and she died on the 22nd of July 2016 at the age of 5.
I don’t understand why it happened but I know Fancy’s legacy must go on!”
Lexie
Fancy’s untimely passing has touched many hearts in Kzn, most notably that of Inspector Fourie, but he is determined to keep Fancy’s legacy alive. Recently, he has been joined in his endeavors by Lexie, who is currently being trained to continue Fancy’s work. She will have big paws to fill, but like her predecessor, we believe Lexie will rise to the occasion and make Fancy proud.
We salute you Insp. Fourie & Lexie.
*keep your eye on our blog for more stories of Lexie
