The Lethbridge Police Service celebrated a trio of furry officers on Monday.
The LPS held a graduation ceremony for two new Police Service Dogs and celebrated the contributions of a retiring PSD.
Following 20 weeks of training, PSD Bobbie and his handler, Cst. Joel Odorski, and PSD Bak, with his handler Cst. Josh Smith, are all prepared to protect the Lethbridge streets.
Both new PSDs received their badges from LPS Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh.
PSD Bobbie is a two-year-old Belgian Malinois originally from the Netherlands, while PSD Bak is a two-year-old Belgian Shepherd/Malinois cross from the Czech Republic.
The new members underwent training in-house that included tracking, obedience, agility, building searches, compound/area searches, evidence searches, drug detection, gunfire exposure, and criminal apprehension.
The LPS said all its K9 teams work with patrols and as part of the Critical Incident Response team during responses to high-risk incidents.
With the addition of PSDs Bobbie and Bak, the LPS has three K9 teams. Officials added that plans are in the works to start training a fourth team in November.
VETERAN CELEBRATION
In addition to the graduation ceremony, the career of PSD Aron was celebrated.
The six-year-old German Shepherd, handled by Cst. Steve Zwartbol, served with the LPS for five years.
During that time, PSD Aron responded to 421 calls, assisted in 213 arrests and according to the LPS, proved wrong 33 people “who thought they could hide or outrun him!”
Officials said the veteran started to slow down over the past few months and was diagnosed with cancer.
The LPS said in his retirement, he will spend his days “as a cherished member of the Zwartbol family, receiving all medical care possible to ensure quality of life.”
