The Government of Saskatchewan recently welcomed its newest K9 conservation officer, Jaks, while bidding adieux to retiring K9 officer Keela.
On April 2, Jaks began his formal training with his handler, Conservation Officer Jamie Chartrand and the Prince Albert Police K9 Unit who both have had a long relationship with training K9s.
"Both the Prince Albert Police Service and the Investigations Unit of Compliance and Enforcement of the Ministry of Environment have extensive knowledge in training service dogs and will benefit from this relationship into the future," Environment Minister Dustin Duncan said. "Jaks will be trained specifically to assist conservation officers in their work."
Jaks comes from the Winnipeg Police Service breeding program. He is an 18 month old Belgium Malinois, which is a breed very similar to the German Shepard. Malinois are used by many agencies as service dogs, as they are known for their high drive, strong work ethic and detection capabilities.
"I'm excited to welcome Jaks as my partner and we continue to bond while I train him," Chartrand said. "So far Jaks has shown great potential and has been training very hard to fill the shoes of Keela our current service dog who will officially retire in 2012."
The ministry has had a K9 unit since 1994, which has proven to be invaluable in locating evidence, tracking suspects and finding missing persons. Keela has been in service since 2007 and has been instrumental in the successful conclusion of many investigations.
After testing many applicants the Investigations Unit of Compliance and Enforcement selected Jaks to be the ministry's fifth K9 conservation officer.
