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Dogs with jobs: MNR canines rough it in bush

BY RICK PUSIAK When people think of a canine team there?s an almost automatic association with police, narcotics officers, the military or perhaps a customs agency. Staff at the Chelmsford Animal Hospital keep MNR dogs in top shape.
BY RICK PUSIAK

When people think of a canine team there?s an almost automatic association with police, narcotics officers, the military or perhaps a customs agency.

Staff at the Chelmsford Animal Hospital keep MNR dogs in top shape. Clockwise from bottom left Kyle Cachagee with Cody, Nancy Mourot, Tiffany Boucher, Kathryn Dodd, Dr. Mark Marin, Dr. Darren Stinson, Mike Binkley with Ranger, France Filiatreault (holding plaque) and Connie Dagg.
Few may make a connection between dog teams and the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR).

The ministry, however, has had handlers and canine units since 1990.

The reason is simple ? conservation officers can run in to some pretty nasty characters in the bush.

Specific MNR employees were issued side arms some time ago, but a big dog trained in protection also comes in handy.

MNR canines are invaluable in searches for contraband, illegal catches and are also called in to help in police cases.

?The assault rates on a conservation officer, they tell us from statistics, is four times higher than that of a police officer,? said Sudbury-based enforcement supervisor and dog handler Brian Morrison.

?That?s why our dogs, even though they are Labradors, they are trained to protect our handlers. They may be called tonight to track a night hunter who has taken off in the bush with a high powered rifle. Or they?re dealing with somebody on a stream bank with a spear or a filleting knife.?

Morrison?s first dog, Shadow, was not trained to protect, but the handler said based on the types of calls he and others were being sent out on, it was quickly realized additional training was required.

He has a new dog called Jet that has just entered service.

MNR dogs are trained to the same standards as Ontario Provincial Police animals and are put through the paces at the OPP canine academy in Gravenhurst. They learn how to do everything from tracking violators to detecting evidence as well as protection and removing weapons from a violent offender.

Ministry dog handlers, meanwhile, have gotten to know Sudbury, specifically the Chelmsford Animal Hospital on Highway 144.

Morrison, along with Sault Ste. Marie-based handler Mike Binkley and Timmins-based handler Kyle Cachagee, dropped by the facility Tuesday to present staff with a plaque recognizing all the work the team has done to keep their furry partners healthy.

Binkley said his dog Ranger was diagnosed with a mild form of skin cancer on the right ear last year. The affliction on that ear was eliminated after what the officer described as fantastic surgery.

The left ear of the male Black Labrador recently flared up and Ranger is making a return trip to the animal hospital today

Cachagee?s dog Cody picked up a streptococcus infection in August similar to flesh eating disease.

Cody, a nine-year -old Yellow Labrador, was also transported to Chelmsford and received round the clock attention for two weeks.

The dog almost didn?t make it a few times, but thanks to expert care at the Chelmsford facility, Cody is now back on the job.

Morrison and his colleagues spoke highly of veterinarians Darren Stinson and Mark Marin and complimented the entire animal hospital staff for going the extra mile.

It isn?t widely known but the Chelmsford hospital has also provided other important services for canine teams over the years.

When Sudbury Regional Police Sgt. Rick McDonald was killed in July 1999, the facility went on emergency standby to care for tracking dogs who faced possibly injury searching for suspects in the case.

Dogs were brought in to provide blood donations if needed and plasma was rigged for emergency surgery.

?That was an occurrence where we were going to have a large number of police dogs in the area working extremely, extremely hard in very, very hot temperatures,? recalled Stinson.

?It?s possible these dogs (could) have required intravenous fluids and things like that to correct dehydration and get them going. We (had) to be aware a police officer was just killed and these dogs (were a) prime means of finding the people that did that?if the dogs go down, the likelihood of finding the perpetrators (was) going to be significantly decreased.?

During the search one dog was brought to the animal hospital after slightly hurting its leg during a fall down a cliff.

The injury was quickly taken care of and the dog put back on the hunt.

?Not to belittle the value that people place on their pets, but these (tracking) dogs are worth a significant amount of money and they are major assets in a law enforcement agency,? said Stinson.

?We become and have made ourselves very aware that their needs are extremely important.?

Stinson has put on emergency first aid courses for police service dog handlers and has gone to the OPP canine academy on a couple of occasions to teach emergency first aid .

?He does it at no charge and has a genuine interest in what we?re doing with dogs,? said Morrison.

The veterinarian has even put on the big bulky protective suits worn by trainers and allowed himself to be ?nabbed? by a dog.

While the MNR dogs receive specialized training, they come from pretty ordinary backgrounds.

Ranger was obtained from a humane society in Calgary, Jet came from an organization called Labrador Rescue in Toronto andCody was obtained from a family in Wahnapitae.

The dogs work as long as healthy and capable of doing their job.

?The longer we can keep a team together the better that team is,? said Morrison.

When retirement day comes the handler has first option on bringing the dog home.


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