Man’s best friend extends long arm of the law

There are some people in the world who are fortunate enough to land the dream job. OPP Cst. Geoff Hartley is one of those.
From the time he was a small boy growing up in rural Ontario, dogs have been his constant companions. So when he joined the OPP 18 years ago, there was never any doubt about how he wanted to serve and protect.
“Right from the beginning I wanted the K-9 unit,” said Cst. Hartley. “I probably would have joined the force anyway, but this is what I’ve always wanted.”
Cst. Hartley’s father was a keen outdoorsman and so he had no shortage of options and experience in dealing with dogs.
“I’ve had beagles for rabbit hunting, black and tans for coon hunting, and Labs for duck hunting,” he recalled. “There was never a time when we didn’t have dogs around the house.”
Cst. Hartley’s enthusiasm for the outdoors now extends into adulthood and he currently has two dogs in his life. This time, however, it’s business as well as pleasure.
“This is my ninth year with the K-9 unit and it’s the best job I could ever have,” he enthused.
Of the two dogs currently under his control, each has different skills.
“Paragon” is a five-year-old German shepherd that’s classified as a general-service police dog. It is trained in tracking missing persons as well as doing drug searches and criminal apprehension.
It was the latter skill which was demonstrated so impressively at the Vital Services Day open house on Saturday at the Emo-La Vallee arena, where Cst. Hartley and Paragon showed the public the futility of trying to resist arrest or flee custody when a well-trained dog and handler are on the scene.
Cst. Chuck MacDonald, of the OPP Emergency Response Team, had the unenviable job of playing the “bad guy” in the demonstration. Clad in heavy protective equipment, he simulated a fugitive trying to hold off the police at gunpoint.
After repeated warnings to surrender, Cst. MacDonald “fired” a shot at the K-9 team and then tried to flee. He got less than 20 metres before being brought down by Paragon and held until Cst. Hartley and another officer arrived.
Playing the dumb criminal to the hilt, Cst. MacDonald then pushed the officer to the ground and once again tried to flee. This time, Paragon was even more assertive.
By the time Cst. Hartley arrived a second time, he was more than willing to co-operate.
As general-service dogs go, Paragon may not exactly fit the image one would expect. Unlike Cst. Hartley’s previous dog, “Max,” which weighed in at nearly 100 pounds, Paragon is of more average size—less than 60 pounds—and not particularly intimidating physically.
Looks can be deceptive, however.
“He [Paragon] has a lot of heart and he knows his job,” said Cst. Hartley.
The other dog in Cst. Hartley’s life is a black Labrador retriever that’s trained to locate cadavers and goes by the ironic name, “Bones.” This dog is used exclusively to locate dead bodies after major catastrophes such as floods or fires.
Fortunately, Bones has not had as busy a career as Paragon.
The career of a police dog begins when the animal is about two-and-a-half years old. They come from many different sources.
“We get these dogs from breeders, families who can no longer handle them, and even the Humane Society,” Cst. Hartley noted. “They are carefully assessed for courage, intelligence, and gunshyness.
“If they pass those standards, they [and their handlers] are sent to Gravenhurst for an extensive training course.”
It is during this 16-week course that the dogs learn the skills of their profession and any remaining flaws that might exclude it from service are discovered.
After completing the course, the dog is given a thorough medical examination to uncover any hidden physical problems such as hip dysplasia. If all is well, it is permanently assigned to a handler.
The training doesn’t stop there, however. Every six weeks, the dog and handler go back to Gravenhurst for a one-week refresher course.
Training also is reinforced during exercise sessions. The dogs are let out into a fenced yard twice a day, where carefully-orchestrated “play” sessions always have a purpose.
“We work on various scenarios during exercise periods,” Cst. Hartley explained. “We’ll run through drills and tasks, but we always finish on a positive note.
“We never use negative reinforcement,” he stressed.
Although the dog lives in the officer’s home, it is by no means a house pet. Cst. Hartley’s dogs live in well-insulated outdoor runs that are attached to the house, but not part of it.
There is a reason for this.
“We don’t want them to become house pets or too accustomed to idle play,” he noted. “They [dogs] are pack animals and crave company, but by carefully restricting the amount of free time they get, it maintains an edge and desire to work.
“For them, the job is their play time. They really love what they do.”