A close-up look at the service dogs who make life better in Saskatchewan

Man’s best friend is more than a furry companion — many Canadians rely on service dogs everyday to live happy and healthy lives. Global News met with four of these incredible dogs to learn more about the work they do to improve the lives of people around them.

First up is Taffy, the newest member of the Saskatoon Police Service. Taffy is a three-year-old Golden Retriever who works with the Internet Child Exploitation Unit (ICE) to find electronic devices during warrant searches.

“The introduction of Taffy as a resource for investigators greatly increases our ability to locate these and hold offenders accountable,” says Staff Sargent Tim Failler. “Taffy is one of eight dog teams in Canada. And the first in Saskatchewan trained in this work.”

Taffy is also trained as a therapy dog, helping aid and comfort police officers and victims of crime.

Over at Medavie, Betty and Misty, a pair of black Labradors, provide comfort to paramedics on the frontline.

“They are really just here in the office for, you know, to bring comfort and joy to either frontline paramedics or our shared services staff or admin staff,” says Angela Serda, senior manager at Medavie Mobile Integrated Health.

But service dogs aren’t only for professionals. Ollie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, helps his owner, war veteran Kevin Hicks, cope with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“If I get too stressed, I stutter really badly or I get to the stage where I can’t speak properly at all,” Hicks says.  “[Ollie] will pick up on that straight away, and his head’s there, and he’s pushing me. And it breaks the cycle in no time at all.”

Hicks says that without Ollie he was unable to leave his house alone. Now he works at the Saskatoon Museum of Military Artifacts, with Ollie by his side.

“In fact, everything we do, whether it’s a theatre or a concert or wherever, he comes.” Hicks says.

However cute these pups may be, it’s important for people to keep their distance and avoid petting them. This can cause distractions that make the dogs forget the tasks at hand.

“When you pet a service dog, you’re distracting them from their handler,” says Candace Bighead, director of Prairieland Service Dog Training. “There could be a handler who has quite a severe disability that requires an alert before the thing happens, so like a seizure dog.”

Watch the video above to see Taffy, Betty, Misty and Ollie in action. 

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