A police dog in Halifax named Steeler is hanging up his collar after eight years on duty and more than 200 arrests.
Following an eight-year career as a general service dog specializing in explosive detection with the Halifax Regional Policeās K9 Unit, Steeler celebrated his last day with the force on Monday with a special doggy cake.
āHeās allowed to socialize with people in the neighbourhood, heās allowed to go on long walks, sleep on the couch and just enjoy life,ā Const. Phil MacDonald, with the Halifax Regional Policeās K9 Unit and Steelerās owner, told Ā鶹“«Ć½ Channel on Monday.
During his time in the police force, Steeler is credited with apprehending more than 200 suspects and worked several special events, where he met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, former president George W. Bush and members of the Royal Family.
Steeler also spent four years performing at the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, an annual show in Halifax featuring marching bands, bagpipes, highland dancing and other acts.
āIt was nice to be a representative of Nova Scotia and Halifax for the people that are visiting,ā MacDonald said.
Steeler participated in dozens of school demonstrations as a way of building a positive relationship between the community and the local police.
āHeās been a bit for a poster child for our sectionā¦because he has the right personality to do that,ā MacDonald said. āPeople see him as a loving dog and a dog that is certainly capable of the police work thatās required of him.ā
Since December 2017, Steeler has been semi-retired and only worked as an explosive detection dog while MacDonald trained his replacement, Morgan.
āHopefully (Morgan will) grow into being the same type of pup that (Steeler) is, and enjoy the same type of successes that heās had in his career,ā said MacDonald.
MacDonald and Steeler will remain close as they will live together with Morgan. Still, MacDonald says there will be a loss without Steeler by his side all the time.
āWeāve experienced every type of call together,ā he said. āItās a bit of a marriage of sorts, so to let that go -- even though thereās another dog to take his place -- itās something that weāll miss.ā
Police Service Dog Steeler has retired from the after 8 years (56 in dog years) of dedicated service. He's tracked criminals, conducted security sweeps & performed school visits. We wish Steeler well in his retirement!
ā Halifax_Police (@HfxRegPolice)
Steeler of is quite the TV sensation, as he prepares to put his paws up in retirement. Luckily he's not the type to let all that fame get to his head. Check him out live on CTV National at 8:45 PM AT/7:45 PM ET. Thanks to
ā Halifax_Police (@HfxRegPolice)