The Essex County Ontario Provincial Police are celebrating a significant milestone for one of its police dogs and his handler.
Maximus and Constable Milan Matovski marked their 100th capture recently during a call last week in Essex.
The team has been working together to fight crime for the past four years.
Maximus is a five-and-a-half-year-old Belgian Malinois/German Shepherd mix and has many qualifications to his credit, including tracking lost and missing people, apprehending criminals, and sniffing out drugs.
His partner, Matovski, is a 14-year veteran of the OPP.
"Essex County OPP is immensely proud of the accomplishments of Constable Milan Matovski and his K9 partner Maximus," said Detachment Commander Glen Miller. "The level of ongoing training and the myriad of calls for service that this K9 team provides ensures investigative excellence at its highest level."
The service said the mere presence of Max and Matovski at an active crime scene is often enough for perpetrators to surrender.
Matovski is quick to deflect his team's success to his fellow officers throughout Essex County.
"To attain the status of locating 100 persons in such a short period of time is certainly a milestone. However, the focus of this team has never been on the accomplishments of the past, but rather what will be accomplished next," read a release from the OPP.
"Max, as he is known by our members, does not get a day off for he is either operationally deployed or training," continued Miller. "The loyalty between Max and Matovski is instilled from the time the two first met, and the partnership is for a lifetime."
The OPP released a tribute video to celebrate the milestone.
Provincial Constable Milan Matovski and K9 Maximus have hit a doggoned big milestone. Max and his handler are a public safety dynamic duo in Essex County. Watch this video and find out why. ^dr pic.twitter.com/9X9vhI1hba
— OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) October 21, 2020