Isaac has some very big paws to fill but, with help from the Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha, the German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois mix will soon become a full-fledged member of the Peterborough Police Service.
On Friday (October 26) at the Peterborough police station, Rotary representatives announced that all proceeds from this year’s Rotary Christmas Auction will fund Isaac’s acquisition and training. The fundraising goal is $28,000.
This is the second time Rotarians have funded a police service dog. In 2004, Harris — named after Rotary founder Paul Harris — joined the local police service.
Handled by then constable Jeff Chartier, Harris served until 2011 and died three years later from cancer.
Once on active duty, K9 Issac will be busy, what with the pending retirement of current police service dogs Wolfe and Hal.
Wolfe, purchased by the Knights of Columbus, is partnered with Constable Tim Fish, and Hal, purchased by the Kinsmen Club of Peterborough, works with Constable Sam McCullum.
Halfway through a 15-week training program overseen by the Niagara Regional Police Service, Issac is partnered with Constable Bob Cowie, a three-year member of the service who previously served 10 years with the Toronto Police Service.
“The progress these dogs make is unbelievable,” said Const. Cowie.
“How smart they are, how agile, the things they pick up on … it is incredible. It has blown my mind to see the progress Isaac has made since day one — and we’re only halfway through the program.”
Const. Cowie noted Isaac is being trained as a general purpose dog, which means his duties will include tracking, suspect apprehension, and drug detection.
“He’s learning every day … I’m learning every day,” he said.
“It has been nothing but a good experience and he’s exceeding in everything that he is doing. As you can see, he’s very calm today. That was not the case in week one. He’d be dancing all over the place. He’s come a long way. We’re really excited to complete our training and become operational come Christmas time.”
As part of his training, Isaac is being fully integrated into Const. Cowie’s home, which he not only shares with his wife Stacey, also a Peterborough police constable, but also two dogs, three horses, “and a bunch of chickens.”
“He’s fit in really well,” Const. Cowie says. “We moved here for family reasons and it was the best decision we ever made. This (working with Isaac) is a bonus.”
Peterborough Deputy Police Chief Tim Farquharson noted there was no allotment in the police budget for a new service dog’s acquisition and training, terming Rotary’s stepping up to the plate “huge” and expressing the department’s appreciation.
Set for November 19th to December 3th, the online Rotary Christmas Auction has traditionally supported projects near and dear to the service club.
Last year saw $25,000 raised toward its commitment to the construction of the Rotary Outdoor Gym at Beavermead Park.
“When it came to our attention that we could put the auction proceeds toward the purchasing of Isaac, we were just ecstatic,” said Rotarian Dean Ostrander, co-chair of the auction with Kim Groenendyk.
Watch kawarthaNOW.com for more details of the auction as it nears.
