From criminals to Kongs and layers, former Stratford Police Service dog enjoying retirement

Jackie Lange remembers one dark winter night when she and a male officer with the Stratford Police Service were looking for someone wanted for multiple offences.

The suspect, after being tracked down, thought over his options and figured his best chance of escape was through Lange. He didn’t realize there was backup waiting.

It was Jack.

The Stratford police K9 rushed to Lange’s defense and took care of business.

“I think (the suspect) regretted his decision,” Lange said with a laugh.

Lange, a former Stratford police constable now working in Woodstock, partnered with Jack from January 2016 until earlier this summer, when the purebred German shepherd from the Czech Republic retired to a life of Kongs and layers.

“I loved it,” she said. “Who wouldn’t love going to work with a dog every day?”

That was the rewarding part.

When they were unable to track down a person or evidence, Lange wondered if she didn’t read Jack properly or missed a cue. It wasn’t like they could discuss the investigation afterwards.

“Dogs do something that humans cannot replicate,” she said. “They’re following a path on the ground that is invisible to our eyes, and they’re finding people in places we may or may not be able to see them … in hopes that if a dog wasn’t there, officers would go right by.”

Lange grew up with dogs, and her family raised a service dog, so she knew there were different expectations after being partnered with Jack. He was 75 pounds at the time and didn’t know any commands or how to walk on a leash.

“Right off the hop, I (wondered), ‘What am I getting into? You could tell he was a quick learner, but he was still a dog.”

She got to know the “bull in a China shop,” whose gait would change if he was onto a scent, or whose ears would move a certain way during an open area search.

Jack always made it clear when he was onto something.

“You could tell there was a change in behavior, and that was a clue to look more,” Lange said. “It helped that he weighed more than half of my weight. When he wanted to go somewhere and he was telling me, ‘We’re going this way,’ it was very obvious.”

The bond between an officer and their K9 partner is unique, Lange said. There were lonely, quiet nights driving around the city, Perth South and St. Marys, and times Lange would stop to let a group of kids marvel at the crime-fighting pup, whose plush toy likeness was once given away to children and youth in the community.

“He was loved,” she said. “Whenever we would go anywhere, people would just be in awe of him. Just knowing he’s a working dog and not an average pet, he was very popular.”

Jack’s job, of course, involved much more than friendly meet-and-greets. Two police dogs in Southwestern Ontario died on duty recently, including Woodstock K9 Taz during an investigation in Stratford.

“Even as an officer without a dog, you know you’re going into situations where something very volatile could occur,” Lange said. “There were times you’d decide not to utilize him because of the extra risk or actual known risk.”

Jack was also used to help those at risk of harming themselves. In 2016, Lange and Jack received recognition after tracking and locating a suicidal man who was unconscious and barely breathing.

“Even though Jack was a successful working dog, every single time it happened I was just through the roof and amazed at his abilities,” Lange said.

Now nine years old, the job’s rigors finally started to show. Jack will spend retirement with Lange and get all the treats for being a good boy.

“He’s at the age you want him to have a bit of a retirement and just be a dog, not have the expectation on him and the physical and mental demands on him,” she said. “It was time.

“At the end of the day, we had a working relationship where I knew his role, and he knew my role. Without words being exchanged, we would get out and do our job.”

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