*Content Warning* Mentions of suicide and a road incident. Please take care when listening.

Pat Daley's got a tail* to tell; but not without Lucy, the chocolate lab who helped him ward off the black dog. The senior Constable never lost his sense of humour despite suffering a serious spinal injury at 26 after an offender rammed into his patrol car, snapping off two spinous processes and leaving a huge indentation in his head in the shape of the rear vision mirror. Now ill-health retired, Pat finds relief in Lucy, his assistance dog, who over time has kept him out of hospital almost a dozen times. Mounted on the walls of Pat's home now is that very mirror; a plaque and tribute made by his wife – “proof that Pat Daly uses his head”.