An RCMP police dog demonstration raised $1,250 in donations for Cops For Cancer and Relay For Life, RCMP Cpl. Jen Allan said.
Four police dog teams participated in the demonstration, which was held in the field across from the Port Alberni RCMP detachment last Thursday before approximately 75-100 people.
The teams, which came from Port Alberni, Westshore, Nanaimo and Duncan, participated in mock car chase apprehensions where police posed as thieves, bad guys, and armed thugs.
Port Alberni was represented by Const. Jarrod Trickett and his dog Rook.
According to officials at the event, the dogs are raised in litters and trained at a special RCMP dog depot in Alberta for six months. Approximately $80,000 is invested in training the dogs.
Dog handlers are specially chosen after raising dogs for up to five years previous.
The dogs are used for tracking, searching for narcotics or explosives, and for apprehensions. The dogs were used extensively at the 2010 Whistler Olympics for bomb detection.
Approximately 80 to 90 per cent of the dogs are German Shepherds and mostly male.
The dogs used to be purchased from Europe, but are raised almost exclusively in Canada now.
The dogs often retire after eight years of service and are mostly kept as pets by their handlers.