These officers have no badges, no guns, no cuffs — just a set of keen senses, including a sense of duty.
The Ontario Provincial Police is again drawing attention to its four-legged colleagues with the release of the fundraising 2020 OPP Canine Unit Calendar, which was launched Monday at the force’s headquarters in Orillia.
“These dogs are police officers, just like their handlers. They are heroes that keep our communities safe,” said OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique.
In the audience were 25 students from Mnjikaning Kendaaswin Elementary School. Carrique asked them what tricks their dogs could perform. One of the kids said, “Protect us.”
That’s been the role of the province’s police dogs for more than half a century.
The Canine Unit was established in 1965 with three teams. There are now 27 teams across the province, with 52 dogs. This year, canines have been involved with 1,400 calls for service, helping police find 173 missing people and track down 164 suspects.
“That’s a good reason for us to recognize their efforts,” said Deputy Commissioner Rose DiMarco.
The dogs, she explained, “help us do our job every day.”
“They also give back to the community by doing fundraisers, which is why we’re here today.”
Proceeds from the calendar are split among the OPP Youth Foundation and the Friends of the OPP Museum. The two will share the $27,500 that was raised from the 2019 calendar.
Dave Osborne, of the OPP Youth Foundation, is hoping for similar success this year. The money will help the foundation provide opportunities for kids in need. That could be through grants to cover the cost of playing sports or going on school trips, or even providing bursaries to those going to college or university.
The calendar is a creative way to make that possible, Osborne said.
“We like to celebrate what our dogs do for us, but, at the same time, the money goes to our two charities,” he said.
The students in attendance Monday got up close with Bella, a chocolate Labrador retriever that specializes in finding missing people, and Dexter, a Labrador retriever that came out of retirement for the day to greet the kids.
Dexter, 12, was an explosives-detection dog for about 10 years.
“They can do things that humans can’t,” said Sgt. Murray Deruiter, Dexter’s handler. “There’s no device that has been invented by man that can (get by) these dogs’ noses.”
The calendar features a different dog for every month, each displaying the dog’s name and a brief bio.
The 2020 calendar opens with Zoe, a search-and-rescue dog that found two teens from Kitchener who were lost for four days in Algonquin Park in July.
The calendars cost $10 each and can be purchased at the OPP Off Duty Shop at General Headquarters or online at oppshop.on.ca.
For more information about the OPP Youth Foundation, click here. More on the Friends of the OPP Museum can be found here.
