Mike Barrett
York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge congratulates Chad McEwan and his sister Taylor at a graduation ceremony for new dogs joining the canine unit. The Sutton teens entry, Koda, was the winner in a name-the-dog contest.
Georgina
June 18, 2008 08:28 PM
By: John Slykhuis
They track suspects for miles through dense brush land, detect hidden bombs, find stashes of street drugs and disarm gun-wielding attackers, but at the end of the day these crimefighters are content simply to play with a rubber chew toy for their reward.
Police dogs and their handlers are among the most formidable weapons in the York Regional and South Simcoe police services armoury and, last week, five new police service dogs were added to the team.
After four months of what they describe as grueling and extensive training in tracking, partner protection, agility and searching, the five German shepherds and their police handlers graduated at the York Regional Police three district headquarters in Georgina.
One by one the teams came forward to accept their badges. For York, there are constables Bill Charnock with Basco, Bill Gillespie with Trooper and Todd Woods with Koda. Serving South Simcoe are constables Matt Tomlin with Ronin and Joe Ferreri with Garan.
After the ceremony, the dogs and their human partners showed off their skills, making use of a specially-designed training course.
Designed and built by students from Sutton District High School, the training facility served as an opportunity to give them a practical, hands-on learning experience, principal Kelly McLeod said.
“It was just a natural partnership between three district police and our school,” she said. “We thoroughly enjoyed it.”
The program also gave students a different perspective of police, she said.
‘All of the officers and their dogs that are graduating here today should take great pride in their accomplishment.’
The 10 high school students responsible were unable to attend, however, due to exams. They are: Pat Barker, Josh Borbank, Chris Brock, Travis Charles, Eric Christianson, Eric Hilts, James Hudson, Chris Nadon, Paul Osborne and Kevin Shaw.
Also on hand were 14-year-old twins Taylor and Chad McEwan, whose entry was judged the winner in a name-the-dog contest.
Koda was the name of their German shepherd who died last November, just a few months before the winning name was announced. Koda bears an uncanny resemblance to their own Koda when he was a young dog, the Keswick High School students said.
“And they’re roughly the same size as well,” their father Mike added.
‘The officers on the road rely on these teams because they often need quick response in the dead of night.’
York Chief Armand La Barge offered praise for the newest members of the police team.
“All of the officers and their dogs that are graduating here today should take great pride in their accomplishment,” he said. “It’s a very intense program.”
The three York canine teams join seven already serving. The canine unit was formed in 1990 and is “an integral part of our frontline policing strategy”, Mr. La Barge said.
“The teams have proven their worth time and time again,” he said.
He added York canine operates 24-hours a day throughout the year.
“The officers on the road rely on these teams because they often need quick response in the dead of night.”
The teams responded to about 2,000 calls last year, 70 per cent more than the previous year, to locate eight missing persons and help arrest 77 suspects.
South Simcoe Police Chief Bruce Davis applauded the partnership between the two services. “We’ve always had a strong relationship with York, but with Chief La Barge running the operation here it has even become stronger.”
He noted they team up on numerous tasks such as the canine teams and marine patrol of Lake Simcoe.
“We share a lot of duties together,” Mr. Davis said. “If our people are closer we will assist them and if their people are closer they will assist our officers.”
The South Simcoe Police canine unit was established in 1999 with one dog. It died two years ago near the end of his career.