Christina Millington
Omineca Express
Sgt. Jason Keays had his detachment out at the NVSS fields on July 25 for a first hand introduction into the Police Dog section (PDS) on the RCMP enforcement side of things.
The Prince George PDS unit came out to Vanderhoof with their trained German shepherds’ demonstrating the various exercises and drills the dogs must go through to be successful in the field when apprehending a suspect.
The PDS unit trains every week and Sgt. Keays thought to invite the specialized unit to Vanderhoof to offer a “refresher” for the detachment.
“It was a training day for the men,” said Keays. “It was nice to have them here.”
All dogs are trained for tracking and searching for suspects, evidence, drugs and explosives.
Generally an officer has raised his or her dog since about six weeks old.
When the dog reaches the age of about two, the duo heads to 17 weeks of training at the RCMP’s Police Dog Service Training Centre in Alberta.
Photo by Christina Millington