Grande Prairie Police Service Canine “Dante”, and his handler are ready to hit the streets after completing their training.
Dante, and his handler, Constable Shane Weinmeyer, are now operational after successfully completing their certification and training, becoming the Grande Prairie Police Service’s first police canine team.
Dante is a one-and-a-half-year-old Belgian Malinois and is a German Shepherd mix from the Czech Republic.
Dante joined the Grande Prairie Police Service earlier this year, since then, the canine and Cst. Weinmeyer have undergone training together in Calgary.
“The addition of a police canine team significantly strengthens our ability to locate suspects, finding missing or vulnerable persons, and supporting critical incident response,” says GPPS Chief Dwayne Lakusta. “Dante and Constable Weinmeyer have put in countless hours of training to reach this point, and we are proud to see them begin serving our community.”
There is a chance that you may see Dante and his handler throughout the community, as training often takes place in residential neighbourhoods, commercial areas, industrial locations, parking lots, and other environments where they may be called upon to work.
GPPS says that training in real-world settings is an important part of maintaining operational readiness and ensuring the canine team remains familiar with the environments they may encounter while responding to calls for service.
GPPS adds that if you see police canine training taking place in your neighbourhood or near a local business, there is generally no cause for alarm.
