A police dog with the Chatham-Kent Police Service and his handler are being praised for their work over the past seven years, which has resulted in dozens of arrests and the seizure of thousands of dollars worth of illicit drugs.
K9 Officer Arry and Constable Rick Bertok received an official citation from the Chatham-Kent Police Services Board during its meeting on Tuesday morning for their "exemplary years of service and sacrifice."
Arry is a Belgian Malinois who was born in Slovenia in 2012. In April 2013, he was imported by the Metro-Detroit Schutzhund and Police K-9 club and sold to the Chatham-Kent Police Service.
In the summer of 2013, Arry and Bertok attended an extensive canine handlers course and were officially certified as a dual purpose police canine.
Since then, Arry has proved that he's a very good boy.
Arry the Chatham-Kent police dog. (Photo courtesy of Chatham-Kent Police Services).
The pair are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week and help with tracking missing or wanted people, high-risk arrests, searching properties for evidence, apprehending suspects, as well as searching for firearms, narcotics and ammunition.
During their time, Arry and Bertok have attended 700 canine-related calls, achieving 75 arrests and recovering four firearms. During warrants and vehicle searches, Arry has detected an estimated $128,015 worth of illegal drugs and recovered nearly $12,000 worth of stolen property, which was able to be returned to its rightful owners.
In addition, Arry and Bertok won first place in agility, searching, obedience and apprehension at the U.S. Police Canine Association regionals in late 2018 as well as a number of other accolades throughout the years.
"Arry and constable Bertok remain beyond proficient and maintained an 'above average' during their training," said Chatham-Kent police Chief Gary Conn. "This is in addition to mandatory yearly certifications through the Windsor Police Service Canine Unit."
In March 2020, Arry's retirement was announced with a new canine unit expected to be in place within the next year.