Guilty verdict a relief for Gold Coast cop

Gold Coast dog squad officer Gary Hamrey's scars may have healed, but pain still lingers from the night he almost didn't come home from work.

That pain became a little easier to bear on Thursday when the bandit who shot Sergeant Hamrey in the face two years ago was found guilty of attempted murder.

The jury's verdict in the trial of Labrador man Robert George Speedy came as a "big relief" for the veteran policeman, who still lives with ongoing pain he believes is from nerve damage.

"Each day I guess things get a little better, whether it's a psychological thing or not I don't know," Sgt Hamrey said on Thursday.

"But certainly today things got a lot better."

The Brisbane Supreme Court jury took less than six hours to find 49-year-old Speedy guilty of attempting to murder Sgt Hamrey in September 2013.

Speedy had opened fire on the dog handler with a .22 rifle after he and accomplice Jake Watson were cornered in the darkness of a Parkwood backyard with $40,000 stolen from a nearby tavern.

Despite being shot in the cheek, Sgt Hamrey returned fire and, along with two other officers, stopped the thieves from escaping.

At his trial, Speedy admitted to the shooting but argued it hadn't been an attempt to kill Sgt Hamrey.

The jury rejected that version on Thursday, the eighth day of the trial.

Their decision closes an unpleasant chapter in the 30-year career of Sgt Hamrey, who shies from the hero tag and said the incident has had a negative impact on his relationship.

"It's not a day to celebrate," he said.

"It's a day of relief I guess that this period of the last few years is pretty much finished and we can move on."

Police dog Biff, who helped track Speedy and Watson on the night, will also be happy the trial is over, according to his partner.

"He's been in his kennel for the last couple of weeks and he's pretty keen to get back to work," Sgt Hamrey said.

Speedy faces life imprisonment but a date has not yet been set for his and Watson's sentence.