The Sarnia Police Service (SPS) is hoping local kids put on their thinking caps to help name the second dog to join the Canine Team.
The expansion of the unit was approved in April, after being introduced in 2024.
Deputy Chief Michael Van Sickle said the naming process was a lot of fun the first time.
"It was interesting to hear why these kids were picking the names that they were, as much as reading the names themselves," Van Sickle said. "So, we're going to try and capture the magic again with the naming of the second dog."
About 500 name suggestions were received during the first "Name the K9" contest, and the "Vader" submission from Benny Canie at Holy Trinity Catholic School was selected.
"It's a little bit more challenging this time around because we don't have the use of the schools," Van Sickle said. "Last time we went through the schools in order to have the submissions from the classes, but given the fact that it's summer, it's going to be a little bit more challenging. So, hopefully we'll get the message out to the kids in the community that we're looking to name another dog."
Van Sickle said SPS hopes to purchase the dog in the first week of August and will meet with the handler after to choose the best fitting name.
"When we were debating about Vader's name, we thought it would be better to see the dog prior to, because sometimes you just look at an animal and you just say, 'that name fits', or it doesn't fit. So, it's a challenging time, so maybe we're going to limit it down to a number of them and then maybe we'll take a look at dog and say, 'ok, this name best fits for it," he said.
The contest is open to children ages 4 to 14 residing in the City of Sarnia, Aamjiwnaang First Nation or who attend a school within Sarnia and Aamjiwnaang.
"What we're looking for is between one or two syllables," Van Sickle said. "It needs to be an easy name for the dog to understand, but also for the handler to use. It's likely going to be a German Shepherd or Belgian Malinois. It's likely going to be a male dog. So, those are the things to keep in mind when thinking about the name."
Submissions must be emailed to NameTheK9@police.sarnia.on.ca and include the dog name recommendation, the child’s name, age, and school, and the name of the child’s parent/caregiver and their phone number.
The contest closes on July 25, 2025 at 5 p.m.
The winning name will be announced when the new canine is deployed with the SPS.
Police Service Dog (PSD) Vader and his handler, Constable Shawn Urban, were deployed 46 times in 2024 and have had 48 deployments to date in 2025.
The team has supported building and open-area searches, narcotics detection, evidence recovery, suspect apprehension, and community engagement demonstrations.