Mounties say Danny the service dog will be retrained and return to duty

An RCMP service dog that captured the hearts of Canadians while mourning the death of his handler, Const. Dave Ross, will return to work, the Mounties have confirmed.

Danny, the German shepherd service dog that had been working with Ross for the past year, will be retrained with a new handler and eventually return to duty, the RCMP announced one day after Ross and two other officers killed in a Moncton, N.B., shootout were laid to rest.

"Danny is trained to work. Danny's bond with Dave will always be there," RCMP Const. Julie Rogers-Marsh wrote in a public statement released Wednesday. "If not for Dave recognizing Danny's skills, he would never have had the opportunity to serve Canadians, something he will continue to do with pride and dedication."

New Brunswick RCMP confirmed the expected fate of Danny after being inundated with questions about the obedient canine officer.

Danny captured the hearts of Canadians after seemingly doting over his departed partner, sniffing the brim of Ross' Stetson while he marched with hundreds of uniformed Mounties ahead of the funeral and then sitting dutifully next to his casket, whimpering through the service.

[ Related: Danny and Const. Ross: The unique bond between an officer and his canine partner ]

Watch a video of Danny released by the New Brunswick RCMP:

Const. Rogers-Marsh said Ross began working with Danny in December of 2012, and they began formal training on April 22, 2013. In August, the pair graduated from the Police Dog Service Training Centre; they worked together until last week, when Ross was killed by a gunman in the streets of Moncton.

"Anytime Danny barked at home, it would be to get Dave to open the truck door so they could go to work," Ross' wife, Rachael, said in a statement. "It wouldn't be fair to Danny to retire him as he loved his work as much as Dave did."

According to RCMP, Danny will be re-teamed when a handler in need of a new service dog is identified. They will then go through a bonding period and return to the training centre in Innisfail, Alta., to be recertified.

While police service dogs being given new partners is considered "unusual" by the RCMP, it has happened in the past when handlers have retired or transferred out of the unit.

It costs an estimated $60,000 to train a police dog and its handler, though it's not clear how much it costs to train the dog a second time. Still, despite the emotion that comes with the relationship between a canine officer and its human handler, they are still valuable police resources.

The colleagues of the three RCMP officers killed in last week’s shooting will mourn and return to duty. It is fitting Danny will do the same.

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