A YOUNGSTER from Lutterworth who is battling cancer has sold a festive drawing for over £1,000 at auction.
Alex Goodwin drew a picture of police dog Finn – who was stabbed in the head and chest while chasing a man suspected of robbing a taxi driver at gunpoint – next to a Christmas tree.
He turned the festive picture into a pack of Christmas cards, which he sold to raise money for Alexander’s Journey – the fund set up for his future treatment and rehabilitation.
Artistic youngster Alex sold Christmas cards to help raise funds for his cancer treatment. Image: SWNS
The nine year-old is undergoing chemotherapy for Ewing Sarcoma, a type of bone cancer that affects fewer than 30 children in the UK each year. He and his family are preparing to fly to America for him to undergo Proton Beam Therapy.
Seven-year-old German Shepherd Finn was stabbed in the head and chest while chasing a man suspected of robbing a taxi driver at gunpoint.
His handler PC Dave Wardell of Hertfordshire Police was also knifed in the hand during the tussle in Stevenage, Hertforshire in October.
Finn and his handler PC Dave Wardell, who is petitioning for police animals to be given protection if assaulted in the line of duty. Image: SWNS
But the police pooch’s ordeal caught the eye of “devastated” Alex, who began following his recovery on social media.
When the cards sold out, Alex and his police officer father PC Jeff Goodwin, who works in Rugby, decided to auction the original.
Jeff said: “When Alex heard about Finn, he was devastated and wanted to do all he could to help.
“It’s in his nature to care for others despite everything he is going through.
“He’s very astute and very passionate about animals so it was his way of helping.”
During the online auction last week, two bidders went “head-to-head”, finally pledging £660 each and the card is to be kept by Special constable Rosie Lee of Warwickshire Police.
She said: “The other man said, ‘I can see you really want this, let’s both pay, but you can have the drawing’.
“He’s an amazing brave boy and I’m touched that I can help in some way and support Jeff as a member of the police family.
“The picture will take pride of place in my home.”
Finn is continuing to recover and it is hoped the police dog will be back to work by the end of the year.
A 16-year-old boy from Lewisham, south-east London, has been charged with assaulting an officer and with criminal damage.
Following the charge, a petition was set up on the UK government’s petition site, proposing that police animals ‘be given protection that reflects their status if assaulted in the line of duty’.
Since October, more than 100,000 people have signed ‘Finn’s Law’.
