Daily BrewDanny and Const. David Ross: The bond between an officer and his canine partner
As three fallen RCMP officers were laid to rest in Moncton on Tuesday, touching tributes and moving images were shared about the men, and the roles they played at home as well as on the job.
Thousands of Mounties who had come from coast to coast to coast were in attendance, wearing the sharp, red serge symbolic of Canada's national police force. Images of emotional officers mingled with photos of tearful family members.
Among the most touching scenes, however, involved a partner of another kind – an image of Danny, Const. David Ross's canine partner.
In a photo captured by the Canadian Press moments before the funeral, the German Shepherd can be seen standing on his back legs, sniffing the brim of the Stetson from Ross’ old uniform.
The scene is enough to bring a grown man to tears all over again. Police dog and his handler: Partners, each loyal, faithful and loving to one another, now separated. Danny may not understand where his partner has gone, but he seems to understand that something is lost.
Ross was a Police Dog Services handler with the RCMP, and his relationship with the devoted Danny played a significant role in the kind of officer, and man, he was.
In his obituary, Ross is called a beloved father, devoted husband and "the best friend to Danny, his faithful K9 companion."
A statement released by Ross’ family also notes his love of dogs, and the role it played in bringing him to the force, and bringing him together with his wife, Rachael.
Rachael also had an affection for German Shepherds and Dave's police dogs. In particular, Dave's first dog, Art, played a special role in their relationship. Rachael and Dave's relationship blossomed going for walks with Art. When Dave and Rachael would hold hands, Art would often try to nose their hands apart because he wanted all of Dave's attention. These were very special memories the couple shared. Dave loved Rachael unconditionally and he showed it every day by making sure she knew that she was the only one for him.
According to the RCMP, the average service dog retires at the age of seven. They cost $60,000 to train, but once they are ready they become important, often invaluable members of the force.
Dog Service Units have been a part of the RCMP since 1937, when the commissioner at the time ordered the establishment of an RCMP K9 training school in Alberta.
The training centre now comprises 10 RCMP officers, led by a staff sergeant, and six public employees and 112 RCMP dog teams are currently stationed across Canada.
Other Canadian police forces include K9 units, from provincial forces such as the Ontario Provincial Police to local agencies.
In May, Thunder Bay Police Const. Joe Prevett, a dog handler on the city's tactical response team, collapsed and died during a K9 training exercise near Gravenhurst, Ont.
When announcing his death, Chief JP Levesque noted that Prevett's partner, Timber, was there with him.
"Police officers are dedicated individuals, hard working individuals and anybody who knows a canine handler can tell you they just bring that to a whole new level," Levesque said at the time.
"Joe was a dedicated, hard-working individual who loved his job and loved his partners. There's not many of us who can say they get to bring their partner home with them at the end of the day and look after them."
In 2013, an Edmonton police dog named Quanto was killed while chasing a suspected car thief, who allegedly turned and stabbed it before being captured. Officials credit Quanto's actions with saving a police officer from death or injury.
“There’s no question that had he not been deployed to apprehend this subject, who was highly motivated to get away, we most likely would have seen one of our own members hurt or killed,” Acting Staff Sgt. Troy Carriere, head of the canine unit, had said. “He made the ultimate sacrifice and that was his job, and he did it well.”
The man who killed Quanto was given a 26-month prison term for animal cruelty. Quanto's partner, Const. Matt Williamson, said in a victim impact statement that the dog's death had deeply affected his family.
According to Williamson, his crying daughter asked, "If Quanto's job was to protect you from bad guys ... is a bad guy going to kill you?"
This is the lot of a police service dog handler, tasked not just with training, but caring for and bonding with their canine partners.
Children fearing for their fathers when their service dog is no longer there to protect them, wives and husbands falling in love under their watchful gaze. That same dog standing obediently, confused and uncertain, as their partner is laid to rest.
It's just about too much to bear.
Images of Danny sitting next to Ross' casket on Tuesday sparked comparisons to the 2011 funeral of Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson, who was killed in a rocket attack in Afghanistan.
At his funeral service, in Iowa, Tumilson's dog, a Labrador retriever named Hawkeye, lay whimpering next to his flag-draped coffin.
Hawkeye was not a service dog, but a beloved family pet.
The relationship between officer and service dog is not much different than that. But instead of saying goodbye and leaving them at home, those dogs stand on duty by the officer's side and risk their life when they risk theirs.
When tragedy strikes one it leaves the other incomplete, doing as best it can to understand. Even if it's clinging to the familiar scent of a partner’s Stetson, just trying to understand.
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