Police officers and their canine partners from throughout the province marched in Woodstock Tuesday as an authorities dog who passed away in the line of task last month was put to rest.
Born in 2019, Taz signed up with the Woodstock Police Service in 2021. He’s being kept in mind as a high-energy and very capable authorities dog who enjoyed a dive in the pond when not working.
“He was a good community dog. He was an effective tracking dog. On all disciplines, he was amazing – never a problem, never an issue,” said London Police Service Sgt. Travis Wintjes, who assisted train Taz.
Wintjes said the authorities K9 neighborhood is close and it’s tough to see among their own decrease.
“Every dog handler has a little bit of, you know, they’ve been through the connection with their dog. So it’s a lot, the way that that we’ve lost Taz in the line of duty.”
Woodstock authorities state Taz and another dog, Striker, were released as part of a drug examination in Stratford on July 3 when both appeared to ingest crystal methamphetamine. Narcan was administered and both dogs were hurried to a veterinary center. Striker made it through, however Taz did not.
Starting at 11 a.m. Tuesday, a procession including more than 60 authorities dogs and their handlers, pipers, horses and other authorities workers marched down Finkle Street to the Reeves Community Complex where a personal service was held.
A personal funeral for authorities dog Taz is held at Reeves Community Complex in Woodstock on Aug. 1, 2023. (Jeff Pickel/CTV Kitchener)
While the service was closed to the general public, lots of neighborhood members lined the streets to honour Taz.
“Our son is a police officer, so it’s near and dear to our hearts to make sure that we support our police officers in every aspect that they do – whether it be a dog or anything – because they are there to help protect us and sometimes we need to give thanks for what they do,” someone who enjoyed the procession with their dog informed CTV News.
Woodstock authorities state they were honoured to see a lot of officers, dogs and neighborhood members keep in mind Taz.
“To see all of the people who came out to line in the street to watch the procession to pay their respects to Taz was something really special for the police service,” said Shaylyn Jackson, a social work officer with Woodstock authorities.
