Police Service Dog Nugget all set to hit Surrey’s streets with Constable Sascha Falschebner

PSD Nugget Photo: RCMP

POLICE Service Dog (PSD) Nugget is all set to hit Surrey’s streets to perform a variety of duties with his handler RCMP Constable Sascha Falschebner.

These duties include finding missing people, helping persons in crisis, searching for evidence, as well as locating and apprehending criminal suspects.

The BC RCMP Lower Mainland District and Integrated Teams on Tuesday announced the police service dog graduating class of 2022.

Seven new teams—one of the largest deployments ever in the Lower Mainland—have graduated from police dog school in Alberta.

The other six teams are:

* Constable Britteny George, Ridge Meadows RCMP, with PSD Porter.
* Constable Jordan Braid, Chilliwack RCMP, with PSD Neon.
* Constable Sebastien Fortin, Coquitlam RCMP, with PSD Norad.
* Constable Chris Colgan, West Vancouver Police, with PSD Nolan.
* Constable Lorne Elgar, West Vancouver Police, with PSD Nuke.
* Constable David Gronmyr, Abbotsford Police, with PSD Nos.

The new dog teams have been training hard for several months at the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre (PDSTC) in Innisfail, Alberta and, after having passed their final exams, have been assigned to work.

Police Service Dogs and their human handlers train each year to master tracking, searching, obedience and apprehension. By the time they complete training, the dogs and their officers are sharp and keen to begin work.

“Having seven Police Service Dog teams arrive in the Lower Mainland is one of the most significant deployments in recent years,” says Staff-Sgt. Derek King. “These teams will improve our ability to respond to calls requiring a police dog and greatly increase the level of service provided to the public.”

The teams are part of the Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Service (IPDS) with partnerships across all RCMP detachments and municipal departments in New Westminster, Delta, West Vancouver, Port Moody and Abbotsford.

In an average year, the teams from IPDS will respond to over 10,000 calls for service.

“A police dog is often the difference needed to bring about a successful conclusion to a wide variety of police incidents,” says IPDS Media Relations Officer, Constable Ross Findlay of the New Westminster Police. “Many people are safe today thanks to the actions of our heroic, furry partners! I’m sure it won’t be long until we hear something amazing about these new teams.”