Pride of Australia 2018: Cop Jacki Largo honoured for creating Paws and Recover charity
JACKI Largo has been honoured with a Pride of Australia award after creating the charity Paws and Recover, which looks after animals when their owners are sick, injured or a victim of crime.
Pride of Australia
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WHEN a person is taken to hospital or plagued by injury, trauma or tragedy, who looks after their pets? And that’s exactly what police officer Jacki Largo is trying to change.
Senior Constable Largo created charity Paws and Recover which looks after animals when their owners are sick, injured or a victim of crime.
Ms Largo noticed a gap that neither healthcare, housing or animal services were addressing, and decided to set up the charity.
“We’d go to jobs where there were mental health issues or drug psychosis and the person would be scheduled into hospital,” she said.
“And as we were locking up the place, there would be a dog or cat and I’d try and find some food and tell the social workers an animal had been left behind that wasn’t being looked after.”
Presenting the award, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said: “Jacki has gone above and beyond and out her life on hold to help others.
“She has demonstrated enormous strength, courage and compassion.
“She shows individuals can make a difference.”
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The Pride of Australia awards honour ordinary Australians thrust by fate into life and death situations, police officers, volunteer firefighters, children who have displayed courage beyond their years, those who have raised untold thousands for charity and selfless individuals who have spent their lives in the service of others and the protection of animals.
Inspired by the Liberty Medal established by the New York Post in the wake of the September 11 attacks, Pride of Australia, championed by the Daily Telegraph, underpins the notion there is no greater measure of a society’s strength than its ability to recognise, learn from and reward its true heroes.
Pride of Australia is proudly brought to you by The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, NewsLocal and Imagine Cruising