Meet Tackle, a new member of the OPP canine unit covering Lambton and Chatham-Kent

After a decade on the job, Blitz is easing into retirement.

Blitz, a four-legged member of the OPP canine unit covering Lambton and Chatham-Kent, has logged about 1,500 calls during his time working with Const. Kris Black tracking suspects, missing persons, evidence, drugs and firearms.

Soon, all that work will be in the paws of tackle, a two-year-old German Shepherd Black is putting through the final stages of testing required for police service dogs.

And then, Black said, Blitz can enjoy “hopefully, just being a dog for a while.”

“He’s actually in really good health” Black said. “Nobody can believe that he’s 12 years old.”

Black grew up in Lambton County and, as someone who always loved dogs, was attracted to the canine unit.

“It’s one of those jobs that has instant gratification,” he said. “You get called out in the middle of the night and have to track down somebody who’s run from a stolen vehicle, or something. And then you catch them.”

Black took over for a handler who was retiring. “I got to go on a few tracks with him and I really enjoyed it.”

Blitz is good at his job, Black said.

A call that sticks in his mind is one where Blitz located a piece of clothing that turned out to be key evidence in a triple homicide investigation.

“It was a pretty good find for him,” Black said.

Also, Blitz found a missing elderly person on what was only his second call.

“The person would have, probably, not made it through the night,” Black said.

Six to nine years is typically the length of time OPP general service dogs remain on the job, Black said.

“So I got lucky he lasted as long as he did.”

Changing service dogs is “a bit of a learning curve,” Black said. “Every dog’s different.”

He has discovered similarities and differences between Tackle and Blitz.

“I’ve noticed he’s a lot stronger than my other guy,” Black said about Tackle. “He pulls a lot harder when he tracks.”

Tackle also “just wants you to be happy with him,” Black said. “He craves your attention.”

Because Tackle received pre-training, and Black is an experienced handler, they completed a 12-week course compared to the normal 20-week general service course. Still to be completed is Tackle’s drug and firearms training.

“So technically, my old guy is still a drug dog, for now,” Black said.

“But, even when he retires I don’t know if I’m going to be able to leave him at home,” he said. “I’ll probably bring him in the truck with me, still. He’s been my partner for 10 years now.”

OPP service dogs are German shepherds, or shepherd and malinois mixes, Black said.

German shepherds “have a good nose,” he said. “They’re loyal to the handler. They have a good hunt drive and a defense drive.”

General service dogs primarily track wanted and missing persons.

“They’re also able to do building clearing, evidence searches, criminal apprehension,” Black said. “They’re also dual trained, so they’re trained in drugs and firearms.”

The dogs go home with Black at the end of the work day and the unit is on call.

“We want to be able to get to a call as quickly as we can, so we bring them home and take care of them,” he said.

Black covers Lambton and Chatham for the OPP but his unit is part of the OPP West Region — stretching between Windsor, Owen Sound and Hamilton — which has seven canine units covering each other’s areas when needed.

As well as Blitz and Tackle, Black trained an explosive detection dog, Celaena, also a German shepherd.

“She detects approximately 20 different odors” connected to commercial and homemade explosives, he said.