The newest Sarnia Police Service (SPS) recruit is a 15-month-old German Shepherd named Vader.
The service introduced its new police dog Tuesday morning. There was visible excitement in the community room as it has been 27 years since SPS has had a Canine Unit.
Insp. Michael Van Sickle and Cst. Shawn Urban picked up Vader on April 8 from a kennel in Pennsylvania, U.S. but the dog was born in Slovenia.
Urban will be Vader's handler and the two will be on-call 24/7 once the dog is fully trained in mid-August.
Until then, Urban said Vader will begin a 15-week training period in Windsor immediately.
"So what he's going to learn to do is how to track, he's going to learn how to search for various items — those being narcotics as well as items dropped by a human person, he's also going to learn how to bite — to apprehend people," he said.
Urban also said Vader will continue to receive regular training throughout his career.
Vader is expected to be 'on the job' for eight years before he can retire and become a regular pet.
"He's not like a normal pet, he needs certain exercises, and there are things you can't do with him that you would with a normal pet," he said.
For example, Urban said he is the only one allowed to touch Vader.
In terms of personal changes, Urban said his home was rearranged to accommodate for Vader's arrival to include an outdoor kennel and proper fencing. Some changes will be made to his schedule, however, as a member of the SPS Emergency Response Team for nearly 20 years, Urban said he's used to being on-call at off time.
Approximately six months were spent getting ready for Vader's arrival.
Public feedback was gathered before the launch of the new SPS Canine Unit. During a 14-month study period, Chief Derek Davis said a police dog could have been used in 75 different instances to assist in searching for missing people or items.
Davis said the capital expense to start this unit was about $110,000, the bulk of which was used to equip a police cruiser with a kennel, special temperature controls, and special door releases.
"Those expenses amortized out over time are actually not very high. When dogs are successful, they save a tremendous amount of time and treasure for investigations, for missing people," said Davis. "We all remember, a little over a year ago, we had a massive search for a missing person here in town and if that type of case could be resolved with the deployment of a Canine Unit, tens of thousands of dollars in overtime and other expenses could be saved because of the capabilities that the dog brings."
Before having its own Canine Unit, the SPS received canine support from neighbouring police forces. Davis said that option was free but subject to availability.
"Police agencies always work together well," Davis said. "Now, we have our own internal capabilities so we can mutually support each other as required."
Insp. Van Sickle, who joined Monday's media conference virtually, said he and other officers have been trying to create a local Canine Unit for years. He publicly thanked Davis for his support in successfully launching the program.
He also said the name "Vader" was very fitting.
"Vader is going to be the patriarch of our dog unit so we thought that was pretty cool," said Van Sickle, who added the name also suggests strength, power, and loyalty.
"Despite the fact that [the name] may have come from different origins, it's the perfect name for a dog."
Vader's name was submitted by six-year-old Benny Canie from Holy Trinity Catholic School as part of the "Name the K9" contest. He received a special plaque from the chief.
Approximately 500 name suggestions were submitted to SPS via email or social media but only about 200 met the criteria. As previously specified, the submissions had to be from a local child or youth and the name had to be two syllables.
Other name suggestions that were considered were: Spaghetti, Darryl, Gary, Blue, Chase, and Makwa (which means bear in Ojibwe).
