Wellington County OPP recently acquired two new Police Service Dogs.
Canine handler Constable Barry Reid will be patrolling and responding to incidents in the county and neighbouring communities with his two new partners.
Knox is a six-year-old German shepherd that has been trained as a general service dog. He will be utilized for tracking wanted suspects, searches for lost and missing people, building searches, apprehensions, evidence searches and public order.
Jag is a six-year-old black Labrador retriever that is trained as a narcotic detector dog. He is trained to find nine types of illicit drugs, as well as firearms.
Wellington County OPP has had a dedicated canine team since 2003. Knox and Jag will be the third and fourth dogs to serve the county. Both dogs will be involved with community service work and public demonstrations.
The OPP canine unit was originally formed in 1965, with three dogs being trained in Mount Forest. The unit currently consists of 27 teams deployed strategically throughout the province.
Canine teams undergo 16 weeks of intensive training at the OPP Academy Canine Training Centre. The training includes promoting obedience, exposing the dogs to obstacles such as stairways, heights, ladders, tunnels and water.
Each dog lives at the handler’s home and stays in an outside kennel provided by the OPP. This develops a proper heavy undercoat that will protect the dog during cold weather assignments.
