A Vernon family already in love with German shepherds got to see another side of the breed.
Rosalin and Uwe Wolters are the proud owners of Kaiser, and their daughter, Esther, also has a German shepherd in Jaschka.
And while their dogs were absent, the family got to see how Cain, a two-year-old German shepherd, operates as an RCMP dog.
“We’re taking them out for our training and showing them all aspects of what the RCMP do with police dogs in their training,” said Vernon RCMP Const. Mark Jones, a police service dog handler.
The Wolters won the chance to observe the police dog training after being top bidders for the chance during a recent Humane Society fundraiser held at The Green (formerly Sneakers) pub at the Village Green Hotel.
“We’ve had German shepherds for 30 years and we’re fascinated by them, absolutely love them,” said Rosalin during a short break from observing the training.
The Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP police dog unit trains the canines once a week, doing such things as alley and drug searching and criminal apprehension.
“The dogs are expected to do a lot and we make sure they’re on the top of their game,” said Jones.
For the Wolters, it was an awesome experience.
“It was very interesting and very informative,” said Uwe Wolters. “Cain’s been doing a great job.”
The Humane Society asked the RCMP to help out with their fundraiser.
This is the first time the local dog unit has allowed members of the public to watch and take part in their weekly training sessions.
“If we’re asked to do it again, we will,” said Const. Kevin Rutten, Cain’s handler.
