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Memories
Paul&Linda Dupuis We Remember! June 10, 2012
 
We think of Thor often.  Tomorrow, even more so!
keith copeland The One Year Anniversary. June 3, 2012
 

I visit these pages from time to time, it keeps the memories alive & vivid.  The one year anniversary of his passing approaches & my wife noted that I will not be home on that day.  I'll be out of town instructing an Auto Theft workshop for Police Officers.  I hadn't actually realized that until she told me, but my first reaction to that was one that has held up after reflecting upon it.

I told her that the date has no special significance - it's 365 days.  I can conjure up the emotions that swirl about with his memory anytime I pause to think of him.  It doesn't matter if it's day 323 or 764; the feelings are as real now as they will be years from now.

I still miss my boy.  Time won't ever erase that.

- keith
keith copeland
 

Police Dog Tails

 

There are many myths about Service Dogs because people generally take dogs for granted. Even household pet dogs have amazing abilities which most owners never notice or simply misinterpret. Service Dogs and their partners by necessity must learn to understand and read each other and that's where the successes and the deep bond come from.

German Shepherds are generally used for Police work because they do a number of things well across the board. Where a Labrador retriever may do drug searches better or faster, they’re not aggressive enough for criminal apprehensions. Police German Shepherds perform very well in all aspects.

The following stories illustrate some of Thor's successes and his amazing abilities as a Police Service Dog.

Thor came from working dog lines in Czechoslovakia and showed his talents early in his training. A big, handsome classical Shepherd, Thor was looking for someone to bond with when he and I got together. The summer of 1999 was idyllic as we learned to become a Police K9 team.  Previously in my career, I had spent many hours with Cst. Warren vanWart and PSD Falk, volunteering my time to indulge my passion for dogs and the special role they play in Police work. Warren and Falk laid the groundwork for my future.

A big test during basic training was whether Thor could detect articles that had been left out over 24 hours. I was nervous as I sent him out to search but I shouldn't have been. He seemed pretty happy with the sneaker he brought back, but it wasn’t what he was sent out for. In fact, the sneaker he brought back had been put out several weeks previously for another K9 team, but they didn’t find it! When Thor was sent out again, he came back with the 24 hour article. From that point on, my confidence and trust in Thor was unshakeable although I occasionally (wrongly!) questioned his abilities.

Early one frosty Fall morning Thor & I were called to search for a missing person.  A caregiver had awoken to find that the lady she looked after had slipped out of the house sometime through the night.  I cast Thor out to search for a track & committed the cardinal sin of thinking for my dog.  Thor immediately wanted to go through a nasty hedge which I was certain that no 80 year old would attempt in the dark so I pulled him back & searched elsewhere for 20 minutes or so.

When we didn't find anything, I took him back to where HE wanted to go in the first place.  Lesson learned!  80 year old ladies with Alzheimers can & will climb through a seemingly impenetrable hedge.  Thor tracked through the hedge & several backyards until we found her on her hands & knees where she had fallen at the edge of the woods.  Paramedics soon arrived & she was taken to hospital with what turned out to be a broken pelvis from her fall.   

I had been told during training that if I was going to think for the dog then I should leave him at home & just do the work myself.  Thor had to remind me of that every now & then.

Training was the basis for success and excellence. Police Canine teams train constantly throughout their career to hone their skills. During one training exercise, Thor easily recovered the only stick in a large pile of sticks that had recently been handled and put back. In another training exercise with River Valley Ground Search and Rescue, Thor and I had been searching for clues during a mock search. We’d been gone about an hour and were returning to the Command Post when Thor suddenly wheeled about and scratched briefly under a shrub before bringing me a watch. Thinking this was a clue, I brought it to the Command Post. The person I brought it to looked at me strangely and asked where we found it and assured me that it wasn’t a clue in the mock search. In fact, it was his own watch that he had lost several months previously.

It takes a great deal of time and patience to understand and interpret what a dog is telling you. Training is paramount and it lays the groundwork for the real work and the real tests, which are on the street. The bond between dog and handler must be strong and trust is a key element. Thor proved himself trustworthy early on and this bond led to many arrests which were made because I trusted him to do the job we had trained for.


Thor took to Basic Police Canine Training like he’d been bred for it! I was always in awe of his abilities at article searches and tracking. I never lost that sense of amazement and it was the strength of our bond; my confidence and respect for his abilities.

Thor graduated from Basic Police Canine Training and began street patrols in November of 1999. His career ended officially in 2007, but he didn't work the streets full-time after June 2006. His 6 years of service was a little shorter than the average of 7, but he had already had back surgery and the effects of getting in and out of his patrol car 20, 30, 40 times a shift were beginning to show.

It was an incredibly difficult decision to make to retire Thor because it also meant the end of my career as a Canine Officer. Decisions beyond my control and best efforts had cut the Canine Unit from four teams down to two and Thor's retirement put me out of the unit. 

We packed in a great deal from 1999 to 2006. We worked the streets of Saint John primarily but also assisted the Rothesay Police, RCMP and Customs on occasions too numerous to count. I have a thousand stories and fond memories and I will share some with you if you care to read further.

Unlike the other dog handlers, I kept the gate open in our patrol car. This allowed Thor to stand on the centre console and stare out the front windshield or his favourite portion which was draped across my shoulders with his great giant head looking out the driver’s side window. We’d pull up beside folks at a traffic light and all they could see was Thor’s massive head. It never failed to elicit a response.

I used to take Thor in to the Police stations with me in the early years, usually on the night shifts but I had to stop because he became such a pest!  He soon learned that I would give him his kong if he barked at me.  Then he'd be off to "share" his toy with whoever was in the station at the time.  Sharing meant dropping this slimy rubber  toy onto  the lap of whichever Patrol Officer happened to be closest.  If they made the mistake of actually tossing it back to him, it was constant harassment plus a very messy uniform!  So he ended up having to stay in the car when I went in.

I would occasionally take Thor on foot patrols through the uptown streets sometimes after midnight, other times during the day. One warm summer day we were standing in an alcove when a lady with a toddler approached to see Thor. The toddler was little – not much more than a snack really. The lady asked if her little munchkin could say hello to Thor. I no sooner said “OK, but . . .” when the tyke reached both arms out and waded into Thor’s neck! Thor was sitting down and was taller than this kids head!

Beyond the brief stoppage of my heart, there’s no more to this story. Thor turned his head away and the mother quickly pulled her child back scolding him like he should have known better. Thor remained sitting beside me like it was all part of a plan.

But truthfully, in spite of his fearsome jaws and bite strength, he was judicious in the application of his teeth. In his years on the street he never once used excessive force or over-reacted to anyone or anything. He was simply a nice dog, just doing his work and using the skills he had to best advantage.

In training, when a suspect runs from a Police Dog, the dog is sent out to apprehend the suspect by biting and holding them until their partner arrives. Other dog handlers who acted as training quarry told me that Thor had the hardest bite of any of the other dogs and clearly Thor relished this training exercise, but on the street Thor somehow learned that he could make an apprehension without force if the situation warranted it.

We were called to a shopping mall for a report of a foot chase of a shoplifting suspect. We arrived and saw the suspect walking along a residential street, arms laden with stolen DVDs as it turned out. I managed to pull our patrol car up beside this person before the foot chase began again. By the time I stopped the car and bailed out with Thor the suspect was out of sight. We ran to the place least seen and began searching, Thor keen on the scent swirling about. Rounding another corner I saw that the suspect had a long lead on us and heading toward a busy street, more people, more traffic. I dropped Thor's line with the apprehension command loud in his ears.

As always, Thor launched himself as if fired from cannon. I trundled along shouting encouragement. The suspect never looked back, just ran and ran trying to put distance between us. Within a few paces of reaching the suspect, Thor checked his speed and gathered himself before jumping and throwing a shoulder block on the suspect which sent both of them rolling along the sidewalk. I arrived just in time to take hold of the suspect while Thor circled barking.

Why Thor didn’t bite and hold like his training dictated is beyond me, but he did what he had to and I’m glad he obeyed his instincts. The suspect was a 16 year old female who said later that she was also pregnant. After handing the arrest off to other Officers, Thor and I backtracked along the foot chase route and recovered over 20 stolen DVDs.

One warm summer afternoon we were waiting at a red light in the uptown area when I saw a couple on the opposite sidewalk in a dispute, gesturing wildly and arguing loudly. It was clear that I would have to intervene. We rolled across the intersection and I pulled over to their side of the road and stopped. Just as I did, the male who hadn’t seen me, reached out and slapped the female hard enough that her head struck the brick wall behind her.

I quickly got out and took hold of the male telling him he was under arrest for assault. He reeked of alcohol and immediately began arguing with me as I managed to get one arm behind his back and pushed him into the wall. He refused my repeated requests for his other arm and began to struggle. He pushed off the wall and turned toward me when suddenly he froze and looked down. Thor had decided to get in on the action. But since he hadn’t been asked to help and he’s such a polite dog, he thought he’d just make his presence known.

He did it by punting this male forcefully in the groin and then he quickly withdrew and crouched in front of him waiting for the next move, his eyes were locked onto the suspect. The effect was immediate and quite noticeable since the suspect was wearing white jeans. The dark stain spreading down the front of his pants and his immediate desire to turn and face the wall showed how effective Thor was at applying just enough force to get the job done.

Once again, Thor had decided that gratuitous violence was over-rated only did what was required.

The final story of Thor’s restraint is sad but ultimately positive. We were called to assist with searching for a troubled young man who had threatened to drown himself. Thor began tracking along a nearby path, but no-one had seen where this man had gone. Thor was in his element, a well worn trail with high weeds alongside which held the scent well. I knew the area and knew we were heading toward a beach. Thor led us through the trail and we broke out of the woods onto the beach. We saw a young male matching the description given walking away from us toward the ocean.

I called his name and we began to jog toward him, he looked back at us and immediately broke into a jog as well. I called again and his answer was a flat out run for the surf. Dressed in duty uniform with heavy boots, I couldn’t run on the loose sand and there was no chance I could catch up. I had no choice but to send Thor to make an apprehension. I dropped the line and gave him the command.

Sand flew from Thor's paws and he quickly closed the distance, his thirty foot line snaking behind him but instead of bite and hold, Thor decided to revert to his herding dog instincts and he began circling and barking at the still running young man. Stumbling over Thor's line several times slowed him down and then he just stopped and collapsed sobbing on the sand with Thor waiting for me to catch up. I was so proud that Thor had shown this restraint once again especially in light of the circumstances.

But I was also worried that Thor could be injured if he was out of my sight when he encountered a suspect with hostile intentions. I needn’t have worried; a couple of weeks later Thor was tracking a Break and Enter suspect through thick woods for about 20 minutes. I could tell we were getting very close due to the change in Thor's behaviour so I dropped his line with the words he knew so well. The suspect learned that Police Dogs don’t take well to being kicked. Nuff said!

So the apprehensions and arrests were his reason d’etre. Tracking suspects and finding stolen and hidden property was all in a days work. He excelled at building searches and many suspects who figured they had found a great hiding spot soon learned otherwise. All in a days work for Thor, great fun!

For all of his successes, Thor was remarkably nonchalant. He knew the difference between work and training day. His reward was the kong and a bit of praise, nothing more. He received no awards or commendations for his work, nor would he have cared if he did. Dogs are like that. Dogs read body language very well and when I was deeply pleased and proud of him, he knew instantly and there was no more praise needed. It was between him and I and that was enough for both of us.

In May of 2006, Thor was given a few weeks off by Dr. Cathy Adams because of recurring back issues which had already resulted in a partial spinal fusion. He was showing signs of pain, so a few weeks off were prescribed to allow things to settle down.

On May 26th 2006, an 84 year old man suffering from Alzheimers wandered away from his home during the afternoon. A full scale search was quickly organized since the man was known to walk in the nearby woods. Throughout the night another canine team searched along with the Fundy Ground Search and Rescue team.

In the early morning of May 27th when I reported to work I found that the gentleman was still not found. The other canine team had searched all night and had a negative encounter with a porcupine near dawn, so they understandably needed rest but there was no other team available to take over. I contacted the Watch Commander and offered to bring Thor back off sick leave.

We entered the woods at 9am after receiving search instructions from the Search Co-ordinator Laura vanZuylen. The area consisted of hundreds of acres of forest bounded on all sides by well travelled roads. But the interior was a patchwork of trails, old clearcuts and thick woods. With all the people crisscrossing the area through the night establishing a track was no longer possible, Thor would have to simply try and locate fresh scent where there wasn’t any. His nose would be our guide.

After an hour of searching, Thor was no longer as enthusiastic as when he started. Normally we rest our dogs frequently and seldom work them beyond 20 minute stretches. But this was different; an 84 year old man had been out in the woods for almost 20 hours. His life hung in the balance, rest wasn’t an option.

As the heat of the day increased, Thor slowed down considerably. I knew the area we needed to cover and the GPS I carried plotted our route at each turn so I could see how much ground we covered. Wind speed and direction are critical for success with a Police Service Dog, so keeping his nose into the breeze was the only hope. But Thor was tired.

As we covered the area, sometimes Thor walked behind me and sometimes he walked ahead of me. Periodically I would encourage him to “find him”, but his enthusiasm was muted. I was concerned that his back pain had returned and perhaps he wasn’t concentrating or even interested. I couldn’t tell, all I could do was follow when he led and trust that even if he was behind me, he would still react to fresh scent if he came across any. Trust was a concept I learned early in our training and it stood the test of time and resulted in many successes for us.

Shortly before noon, we were emerging from thick woods into an overgrown clearing that undulated with dips and hollows over a large area. Thor had taken up the lead but I saw no obvious change in his demeanour, he just kept out in front of me by 50 feet or so. I hadn’t intended to cross the clear-cut but the words of my trainer rang through my mind “trust your dog”. Thor seemed to want to go that way so I decided to go with him, it would be a simple matter to swing back around.

Suddenly, as Thor disappeared down a low rise in front of me I saw a man laying down directly in front of us less than 200 feet away. Thor's head popped up between us as he continued along his unerring path, no other change observable, just steadily closing the distance while I scrambled along madly behind him.

I was elated that Thor had found him, but terrified it was too late. Thor arrived well before I did and sniffed the mans face before moving off a short distance. There was no reaction and I feared the worst. Still struggling through the broken branches and ground cover, I decided to call his name – “Arthur!” I bellowed. His gruff “What?” response thrilled me beyond measure. I couldn’t keep the excitement out of my voice when I radioed the command post to say that Thor had found Arthur and that he was very much alive.

A newspaper photographer hiked in with the evacuation team and took several pictures of the recovery effort including a picture of Thor and I relaxing afterwards while the evacuation team assessed Arthur and put him onto a stretcher. It took over an hour for relay teams to carry him out. When we arrived at the Command Post the Search Team and Arthur's family greeted us with loud cheers and applause. A treasured picture was taken of Thor when one of Arthur’s great grandchildren knelt down to hug him.

That day was a highlight for sure.

Another career highlight resulted in a life saved when minutes counted. A concerned person called Police to report that she had found a note from a friend, an empty prescription bottle and her friend’s vehicle was gone. An alert was issued and a check with paramedics proved that the clock was ticking, time was of the essence.

Nothing much could be done until the car was located and Thor was blissfully unaware of the drama. When the car was located in a local park an all out search got underway but because of the popularity of the area, there was far too much foot traffic for Thor to track from the car. Police Officers on foot, on bicycles and in cars searched the area and providing all those they encountered with a description yet no-one reported having seen this person.

Nearly an hour and a half passed since the initial call and paramedics on standby said that by now the medication would have rendered anyone unconscious. It was clear that this person was not presently on the trails and hadn’t been seen by anyone even earlier on so I surmised that a person in this would avoid highly travelled areas to seek seclusion.

Thor and I patrolled Rockwood Park on foot frequently (one of the great perks of being in the Canine Unit was being paid to walk a dog in the park!!), so we knew the area very well. I decided that the person had likely left the trail near the car very early and the possibility for a track off the beaten path was the best and only hope.

I harnessed Thor amid a crowd of spectators, police officers, paramedics and firefighters and tried not to think of the odds stacked against us. The trail we were about to set out on had seen constant traffic since we arrived an hour previous. In an attempt to cool things down, I’d sent out Officers on bicycle to clear people off it for a few minutes so that Thor might have a better chance.

I cast him out to search alongside the trail hoping that he’d differentiate between the hundreds of scents caught up in the tall grasses and ferns from the scent that had perhaps broken through to establish a track which he could follow. I was conflicted with doubt because of the length of time that had passed and the contamination of the area by other scents, but as I’d done countless times before, I cleared my mind when the harness went on and Thor and I put our noses down.

I intended to make two passes along the first stretch of trail before venturing off the trail on a parallel course looking for a scent. We were almost ready to turn around at the end of our first pass when Thor suddenly turned backward and made a sharp left turn disappearing into the trail-side fence of deep ferns and waist high shrubs.

Sudden frantic barking made me pull back hard on his leash so I could see him and in doing so, I saw that Thor had found this person curled up and unconscious, ten feet off the trail where people had passed in a constant parade of walkers and searchers. The location was within sight of the command post yet invisible to all. Thor had worked his magic within five minutes of having been deployed.

I later received a communication from the lucky survivor who thanked me for another chance at life. I read it to Thor but once again, he feigned nonchalance.

We had a number of notable tracks, none more so than the Marsh Creek epic. The trek was immortalized in the local newspaper with a cartoon which I was lucky enough to obtain the original version that I laminated and hung with great pride.  (It is copied on the photo gallery.)

On a hot summer afternoon a Patrol Officer stopped a car on Rothesay Avenue for a traffic violation. After a short conversation with the Officer, the suspect fled on foot across the CN rail yard and into the woods beyond.

Reacting to my lights and siren, Thor was all cranked up by the time we arrived. I struggled to hold him back while I buckled up his tracking harness and the instant I stood up, he was gone like a shot dragging me along at the end of the 30 foot line.

Among the hardships faced by a Police Service Dog is the fact that when they are tracking and straining to gather scent into their nostrils, plus maintain adequate breathing, they’re also attached to a 200lb anchor that they must tow behind them. The anchor frequently snags on trees, shrubs and generally works counter to their instinct which is to gather the scent and go like hell! Police Service Dogs are elite athletes, make no mistake about that.

On tracks like this I was keenly aware of the toll that I took on Thor’s stamina as I struggled to keep up, but he knew we were a team and he relied on me just as I relied on him. Dragging me face first through the brush and swamps was all part of the fun.

So away we went, under line after line of boxcars and through the hot hard surfaces of the rail yard before plunging into the swampy border where it was cool and green. In this area, Thor was in his element and the outcome was never in doubt on a fresh hot track such as this.

We were accompanied by a Police Officer in the first stage, but it’s very difficult to keep up with a canine team when they’re on the run. Lose sight of them and you’re suddenly alone, it happens every time.

We broke through a screen of tall grasses and found ourselves at the edge of a broad stretch of the infamous Marsh Creek. It looked idyllic in this area, wide, cool and dark with overhanging trees and branches and dragonflies darting about. But I had little time to enjoy the scene; Thor wanted to cross the water. Thor was focused on his quarry and he clearly knew that the track continued on the other side.

I on the other hand was quite aware of the reputation of Marsh Creek with its many sewage outflows and by-products of previous industrial abuse. It was the subject of much discussion about cleanup and associated costs over the years, but while the discussion continued, the creek remained in its polluted state.

Thor started into the water eagerly, towing me in reluctantly. Our cover Officer started wading in with me but I warned him to wait until we made it across since I had no idea how deep it was. It turned out to be chest deep for me, deeper than both my radio and my cellphone which became a bit of an issue later on.

Once Thor reached the opposite shore, he scrambled up the bank and pulled hard into the weeds and grasses beyond. We were quickly swallowed up and never saw our cover Officer again.

We were now travelling through a huge wet swale with tall hummocks of grasses, knee deep pockets of black swamp and dense alders. Despite these handicaps, Thor was strong and I knew we were closing in. When Thor began blowing through his nose and jumping up in the air, I knew the suspect was nearby. I stopped Thor and reeled myself in the 30 foot line to his side. There was no mistaking Thor’s intensity so I called out to the suspect to give himself up or the Police Dog would be released. Thor added his voice to mine for punctuation.

Wisely, the suspect who was within 20 feet of us raised his hands and stood up slowly, tired and bedraggled. He told me that he was wanted on a warrant which is why he ran. He had been on a bender of crack and alcohol and was all out of running now.

Our next predicament came quickly. We were in the middle of a swamp without communication. The suspect could not be expected to swim back across the creek, nor was I anxious to do so. I decided to go toward the four lane highway which I could hear ahead of us in the distance.

The next ½ hour was interesting as we hiked through the swampy woods toward the highway noises. The suspect was completely exhausted and needed frequent rests, but there was no choice but to continue since no-one knew where we were. Finally we managed to break out of the woods next to the four lane but found ourselves at the top of a cliff where no-one could see us.

I needed to get down lower so we were seen, but the suspect was out of steam. I managed to cajole and encourage him enough to move lower down, but soon we reached a sheer drop and he flat out refused to go any further. He lay down in a blueberry patch and began harvesting. Thor lay nearby apparently disinterested but he didn’t fool me.

Soon I noticed a car travelling slowly along the shoulder of the highway and made eye contact with the driver who happened to be a reporter for the newspaper who was monitoring the Police scanner. He quickly summoned assistance, but there was no way that anyone was getting the suspect safely down without some sort of large scale safety rigging even though we were only 40 feet up.

I requested that the Fire Department aerial ladder be deployed and within a short time, the suspect, Thor and I plus an apprehensive firefighter who never took his eyes off Thor were lifted off the cliff down to Terra Firma. Another photo for the newspaper.  All in a days work.

Thor and I became members of the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) as well as the Quebec Police Canine Association. In June of 2003, the SJPF hosted the USPCA Region 9 Field Trials at the Canada Games Stadium. I’ve never been one for competitions, but these trials would serve to establish Thor’s credentials and provide him with his first title (Police Dog 1) if he qualified, so it was somewhat important.

Competition was in two classes – novice and open. Thor, having never competed before was a novice in a small novice class. I was optimistic about our chances. Teams are evaluated on tracking, article searches, criminal apprehensions, agility and obedience. Although I was never a stickler for obedience, I figured my boy could hold his own in any of the other disciplines.

The trials were held over two days with the tracking and article searches held on the first day at various locations and then the agility, obedience and criminal apprehensions held at the Canada Games Stadium in front of the public on the second day.

Two incidents occurred during the Royce Isenor Memorial Field Trials which bear repeating. The first was when Thor and I were called to the field over the loudspeaker. All eyes turned our way as we loped across the track out onto the field. Thor was out front pulling hard full of energy, ready to go. I was running too, tethered as I was by a six foot length of leather, there wasn’t an option as much as a means of survival.

Then the unthinkable happened – I began to stumble. I can still hear the collective gasp from the crowd in the stands as it became clear that my legs weren’t keeping up and they were witnessing a train wreck. I realized that skidding along the ground being dragged down the field face first by my Police Dog would likely not win style points from the judges. Somehow I managed at the last possible second to drop my head, roll onto my shoulder in a forward roll back up onto my feet. By this point Thor had stopped and looked at me as if to ask what I thought I was up to. The crowd roared appreciation and I bowed in response as if it was all part of the plan. Somehow we clutched victory from the jaws of defeat.

The second notable event was Thor’s final score. He won two Gold medals, one for agility, the other for Criminal Apprehension. He won a Silver medal for the Suspect Search and a Bronze medal for Obedience. But his aggregate score exceeded every other competitor in both classes – he was top dog overall!

Not being competitive by nature and having had such great results first time out, I immediately retired Thor from future competition – he holds the distinction of undefeated champion! In all seriousness though, in spite of how well Thor did, my focus was always on how well he did on the street, not whether he heeled at precisely the proper position or that he retrieved an article and dropped it immediately in front of me as opposed to 10 feet out.

Thor's huge trophy which he received that day is now his final resting place. His ashes were placed inside the wooden base and his medals and ribbons hang from the large brass cup.



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