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Canine serves and protects in Alberni

Alberni RCMP Const. Jarrod Trickett’s callout in early December was halted when he and his K9 partner encountered a large black bear.
Port Alberni RCMP Const. Jarrod Trickett and his partner, police dog Rook.
Port Alberni RCMP Const. Jarrod Trickett and his canine partner

Police Dog Service teams have to be prepared for emergency call-outs at all times of the day and night, and many of these teams have routines in place that ensure not a second is lost in responding to calls for assistance.

But sometimes, those routines are unavoidably interrupted.

Port Alberni RCMP Const. Jarrod Trickett’s callout routine in early December was abruptly halted when he and his K9 partner rook encountered a large black bear sow and her two cubs as Trickett was headed to his police truck outside his home.

Trickett was alarmed as Rook engaged with the three animals, battling them for “what seemed like an eternity,” he related.

After considering a number of intervention options, Trickett decided to simply yell for Rook to get in the truck—remarkably, the dog disengaged, ran to the police truck and hopped in, uninjured.

Rook was able to shake off his bear encounter and track a high-profile criminal over more than a kilometre of rough terrain and corner him in the bush behind Walmart.

The track “went through some dicey areas,” RCMP Cpl. Jen Allan said. The male—a prolific offender well known to both Alberni and Nanaimo RCMP—had been hunkered down in the bush until Rook flushed him out, Allan said.

“This was yet another example of the special bond that exists between the handler and his canine, and the lengths the dogs wil go to in ensuring the safety and security of their masters.”

editor@albernivalleynews.com

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