Victim services therapy dog retires after years of devoted service
Max was the first victim services therapy dog at the Prince George RCMP detachment.
After five years on the job, the yellow lab is retiring.
On Tuesday, Max's friends and fans came together for his retirement party.
"Max is now 12 and all finished, and he's had an amazing career," Krista Levar, Max's handler and head of Prince George RCMP's victim services program, told Daybreak North's Nicole Oud.
Max responds to three different languages: English, German and sign language.
The dog was Levar's partner in the victim services program and worked in crisis situations. He would offer support to crime victims, and sometimes go to court with them.
Many of those victims were children, Levar told CBC News in a phone interview.
She said Max specialized in working with victims of sexual violence, which represented about 80 per cent of the work he did as a service dog.
But Max suffered hip problems and when they worsened, Levar decided it was time for the dog to retire.
"He was at work the one day and he just didn't want to get up," Levar said.
Max's retirement will take some getting used to — for both Levar and the dog.
"It's been hard because he loves working. This morning when I left for work and he was waiting for me to put his vest on him, I think he was a bit disappointed."
The impact Max made during his time as a service dog will not be forgotten. Levar said having the dog with her put people at ease.
"I am blown away by how much calmer people feel when he's around … when someone reaches down and starts petting him, words just seem to flow much more easily.
"It allows them that distraction, that opportunity to connect and that comforting feeling of touch that I as a service provider can't really do."
Having Max present has allowed Levar to build rapport with people more quickly.
"I always find that whenever you're talking about the effects that therapy dogs have, or that dogs in general have on people, it's intangible. It's just this wonderful way that they make you feel. And he's just delightful," Levar told Oud.
To reward Max for his years of service, Levar bought a trailer so they could go camping on the weekends. The yellow lab may no longer be able to work, but he will have plenty of opportunity to swim and play in retirement.
Listen to Daybreak North's interview with Krista Levar here:
With files from Daybreak North
