ID    Code	Dogs of the Canine Unit 20-May-2010 09:57 PST Back | Print Article The K-9 unit consists of eight Detective Constables and nine police dogs. These officer-dog teams respond to insecure premises calls, robberies, break and enters, armed persons, stolen vehicles and back-up calls for patrol officers. The K-9 unit is also a perfect means of deterring thefts and other criminal activities. In 2008, officers of the K-9 unit responded to over 1,600 K-9 calls, over 2,400 routine calls and drove anywhere between 200 and 400 kilometres per shift. Most of the dogs on the team are trained to be general purpose dogs (tracking, building searches etc.) However, PSD (Police Service Dog) Dillon is specially trained to deal with drugs and guns, and PSD Brix, who passed away after his long career with the unit, was trained to deal with explosives. PSD Titan has now been cross-trained on explosives and will be taking on the duties of PSD Brix. Most of the K-9 police dogs are purchased from European countries such as Holland, Netherlands and the Czech Republic. These dogs are bred for stamina and perform in harsh conditions. A police dog can cost a service anywhere from $6,500 to $9,500 and begin their careers between one and two years of age. They are trained for up to 65 days in Durham Region before they begin their duties in the unit. Each dog lives with its respective handler on a full-time basis. Although these dogs need to be hard-working and aggressive, they also need to know how to act when dealing with the public. The following is a list of K-9 handlers and their dogs: D/Cst. Wes King & PSD Blitz D/Cst. Jason Dickson & PSD Tank D/Cst. Kevin Dunlop & PSD Magnum D/Cst. Bryan Armstrong & PSD Mako and PSD Vegas D/Cst. Corby Wright & PSD Hemmi D/Cst. Jim Stephenson & PSD Dillon and PSD Ozzy D/Cst. Wayne King & PSD Havoc Below are attached files. PSD Blitz (JPG file, 244.5K bytes) PSD Dillon (JPG file, 225.8K bytes) PSD Havoc (JPG file, 188.9K bytes) PSD Hemmi (JPG file, 185.9K bytes) PSD Magnum (JPG file, 196.8K bytes) PSD Mako (JPG file, 213.2K bytes) PSD Ozzy (JPG file, 172.6K bytes) PSD Tank (JPG file, 237.1K bytes)
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