Police dogs 'like a member of your family'

After adog was stabbed to death in the line of duty in Edmonton earlier this week, a canine handler with the Fort Frances OPP says it would be devastating for any officer to lose his canine partner.

Constable Chris Halverson of Fort Frances is one of three OPP dog handlers in the northwest. He said his partner Diesel, a 4-year-old German Shepherd, is a big part of his life.

"So outside of work, they're with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, he said.

They're with you in your truck when you're working, at home when you're not working, and like I said it would be an absolutely devastating loss, and you'd deal with it as losing a member of your family."

Training to deal with 'unpredictable calls'

Halverson said the OPP has strict practices regarding police dogs, including keeping them on a lead while they are working, to ensure they are safe at all times.

"You try to be well aware of the situation you're going into. Safety is the number one concern for an officer and his dog because a lot of the calls that we deal with are unpredictable in nature, Halverson said.

We have very good equipment, a lot of training to deal with unpredictable calls and we have an emergency response team in Ontario that provides backup for us that works at basically protecting the canine handler and his dog as they deal with the call."

Fort Frances OPP has a general service dog that works at mainly tracking missing people, but it can be brought out to other calls as well.

Police dogs usually retire from service after 8-10 years, and many stay with the handlers after they retire.

In northwestern Ontario, K9 units are with the Fort Frances and Dryden OPP, as well as with NAPS. Thunder Bay Police have a K9 unit as well.