THE WEEKEND OUTLOOK Friday Fat -Features- Chase the Wonder Dog By LISA BOONSTOPPELPOT The Herald Searching a school for criminals can take a police of ficer hours but for a trained police dog it might take only minutes To ensure Haltons police dog maintains his speed at searching hell be training at Halton schools nightly The Regional Police Department and the two school boards the Roman Catholic School Board and the Halton Board of Education have worked out an agreement benefit ting both the schools and police dog Chase Chase a fouryearold purebred German Shepherd and bis trainer Constable Paul Delaney will make regular use of al the schools in Halton beginn ing the last week of April to train themselves for actual search missions during their night shift patrols When the dogs not being us ed he has to constantly prac tice said Const Schools are great to practice in because there are an infinite number of places where people can hide Const said Chase has been trained on a reward system and his reward is finding so meone As well the teams presence at the schools will benefit the boards who have real problems with break and enters at some schools said Const Delaney He estimates if a suspect was hiding in Georgetown and District High School Chase could find himher in 15 minutes where a team of five police of ficers would need almost an hour to comb the building and find the When Chase finds a suspect he alerts Const by barking and will hold the person there un til he arrives Hell only attack if the suspect is threatening him Const or another police officer Chase is trained to bite the right arm since most suspects will use their right hand to carry a weapon When not at the scene of a crime Chase is an exuberant friendly animal Just waiting to lick your face This makes him a huge attraction for children when Const Delaney does school visits He loves kids said Const hes very gentle with them But the 72pound animal turns into a fearsome enforcer when hes commanded to find possible suspects Many suspects give themsrives up before the dog reaches them because theyre scared said Const Delaney Chases tracking skills have already helped officers catch criminals since he started work- FLYERS Watch for these MONEYSAVJNG flyers Inside this edition of THE HERALD CANADIAN TIRE Partial Partial WW Partial Distribution STEAK EXPRESS Partial Distribution Chase and Constable Paul are together hours as Haiti n Regional Polices only mandog team but Constable main tains a working relationship with the purebred German Shepherd Herald photo by Lisa BoonstoppelPot ing in July of last year In Hills alone Chase located the persons responsible for wilfully setting fire to the Old Mill at Maple and River Street He tracked the culprits scent to near by bushes where the suspects thought they could safely watch the blaze Chase also saved a womans life in Halton Hills last summer after he found her in the bush where she had collapsed after consuming pills As the only officerdog team in the region Chase and Const Delaney respond to all crimes in progress hi the region Both dog and man were trained for the position and expect to work together for seven to eight years the dogs estimated term of service with the force Being the dog handler is a big commitment for Const Not only will he be doing the s9me work for that time period but being a dog handler is a 24- hour commitment Chase resides in a kennel at Constable home and will become a family pet after Chases service with the force is terminated But when Chase is off duty the relationship between him and Const Delaney doesnt become one of pet and master but is maintained as a working rela tionship so Chases skills at police work will not diminish The training in schools wilt help Chase keep in top form so he can continue to fight crime canine style In Halton Hills Headquarter are at Fletchers Shoes VNHy Canadas Leading Name In Soccer Shoes mittE absolute performance ADULT SIZES 7 to 12 MAKE SURE YOU ARE PROTECTED QUALITY SHIN PADS HMO FLETCHERS THf FAMILY SHOfS Police service dog Chase and his handler Con- ting next week Herald photo by Lisa Boonstoppel- sUble Paul Delaney will be training nightly at Pot alternate Public and Catholic Schools star- MAIN ST S DOWNTOWN GEORGfTOWN