Moose Jaw police dog nabs suspect on first day

Moose Jaw’s newest police service dog proved himself straight out of training during his first day on the job.

Argo, a 19-month-old Slovakian-bred German Shepherd, nabbed his first suspect at the end of his first shift in January with Const. Curtis Amiot.

#Argo made his first criminal apprehension and arrest on a Male with warrants who fled on foot. Pretty good first day PSD Argo! #k9 @MJPolice @MJPS_K9 pic.twitter.com/OLDnk9T7j4

— MJPS K9 (@MJPS_K9) January 31, 2019

They were responding to a call about an unwanted guest at a home and discovered he was wanted on a warrant.

“He was going to be free to go just with a new court date. Once we got outside, he kind of got a little bit nervous and he ended up taking off on foot,” said Amiot.

While another officer started chasing the suspect, Amiot went to his vehicle to get Argo. They met up where the other officer lost track of the suspect and used Argo to pick up the trail, ending up on the frozen river near the busy railroad tracks.

“(The man) was getting to where he would be close to the railroad tracks so I told him to stop and he decided to start running again,” said Amiot.

Because the man was heading toward the tracks, Amiot decided to end the chase quickly and safely, sending Argo after the man before he entered the dangerous area.

“I deployed Argo and he was able to apprehend (the man) and hold onto him until we got up there,” said Amiot.

A police service dog seeing action during its first shift is rare in Moose Jaw. The city has had police dogs for nine years but Amiot explained they’ve been deployed fewer than 10 times.

“It’s not unusual to go even a couple of years without seeing a deployment and an apprehension,” said Amiot.

Argo is one of two active police service dogs in Moose Jaw with another two starting training next week. The four dogs will comprise about one per patrol team.

Police try to get five to seven years of service out of each dog, but that can vary depending on the animals’ health.