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Wednesdsay March 10, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER A3 'Gage' helping police put bite on crime B y K aren S m ith Special to the beaver A new addition to the ranks of Halton police doesn't need a gun, pepper spray or a night stick when he's fighting crime across the region. He's armed with a different kind of weapon -- a nose several million times more sensitive than one of a human. Gage, a 19-month-old German Shepherd, recently joined the force's canine unit -- boost­ ing the department from one to two dogs for the first time since it opened in 1991. The clever canine has been on the road for just two weeks with handler Constable Lisa Scott, a former patrol officer who's also new to the unit. "It's really exciting to work with him and to be doing a job that's quite different for me," she said. "It's definitely more of a challenge when you've got a partner like this." Constable Scott and Gage became partners while undergoing four months of canine unit training with the Toronto Police Service. Gage joins Justice, a four-year-old German Shepherd handled for more than a year by Constable Greg Casson. It's the dogs' deadly sense of smell, keen eye­ sight and sharp hearing that make them valuable assets when searching for suspects, victims or missing persons, or objects that help provide clues. But finding the right German Shepherd for the job isn't a simple task. Imported from Europe, which is well ahead of North America when it comes to working dog training, suited dogs are healthy and intelligent males, not too big or too small, with the right temperament. But because hip and elbow disorders are a problerp with the breed, and as more police forces are seeing the value of dogs at crime scenes, appropriate canines are in high demand. "It's getting harder and harder all the time to get a dog that will suit our needs and last five or six years," Constable Casson said. During training in Toronto, Constable Scott said two of eight dogs were found to be inap­ propriate for medical and temperament reasons. The meant the handlers were left without dogs and had to wait for the next training session. Constable Casson said it's incredible how the dogs perform so accurately, how they distin­ guish practice from the real thing and how they react proudly when they know they've complet­ ed their task. "If I go to a call with the siren on, he howls in the back," he said. But it's important to remember that the canines are working dogs, not pets. They're treated well, Constable Casson said, but they don't get to sleep on their handlers' beds at night. Undergoing 30 hours of training per month to stay sharp, Gage and Justice stay in kennels at the homes of their handlers when they're not working. The police service covers the costs, but the handlers are responsible for the care of the canines 24 hours a day. The constables, who always have their dogs with them while on the job, work opposite shifts responding to calls throughout the region. The dogs' work surrounds detecting human scent in their searches upon instruction only by their handler. When locating the person or object, the dogs will bark to indicate the finding to the handler, who won't be far behind. If a person tries to harm the canines or run away from them, the dogs are trained to bite, Constable Casson said. He said Justice bit a suspect in Burlington in 1997 when a drunk driver fled his vehicle after being pulled over by Constable Casson. The man, who refused to stop despite warn­ ing, ran behind a factory and would have escaped if Justice had not been in pursuit, the constable said. In total, seven bites have occurred in the his­ tory of the unit, but no dogs have ever suffered a serious injury or death on the job. "The only thing we haven't trained the dog to do yet is pay at Tim Horton's," Constable Casson said. "Justice has yet to buy me a cof­ fee." Seriously, he said the bottom line is that the dogs can perform more efficiently than people in searches. "It really is a treat working with these dogs. It can be very frustrating at times, but it can be very rewarding as well." Gage -- acquired through the support of Karmax, Georgetown Chrysler, Gordon Food Service and Pet Value -- is still a rookie, but he's maturing well into the position, Constable Scott said. "They're a powerful tool." jo Constable Lisa Scott with with Halton Regional Police Service dog Gage, who is second canine unit member. The other canine member is Justice. \ Photo by Graham Paine 6 0 8 1 Robberies could be linked Police are looking for two men who may be involved in a string of six Burlington hold-ups over the weekend plus Friday's robbery of Lick's in Bronte. The description of the suspects is so similar that investi­ gators believe the crimes were committed by the same peo­ ple. In each case money was demanded and a weapon indi­ cated or implied but not seen. In each incident an undisclosed amount of money was turned over. No one was hurt. According to Halton Regional Police, the Oakville inci­ dent took place around 9 p.m. Friday when the two men walked into the Lakeshore Road eatery and ordered food. They ate their meal then left. One man returned and demanded money from the employees and indicated he was armed. No weapon was seen. An undisclosed amount of cash was turned over then the suspect fled on foot. The first suspect is described as a white male, 25 to 30 years old, six-feet tall with a slim build and naturally red- dish-orange long hair and goatee. He was wearing a blue jeans jacket and jeans. The second suspect is a white male, 25 to 30 years old, six-feet to six-feet two-inches tall with a medium build, a dark, scraggly goatee and long black hair in a ponytail. The first incident was Friday's robbery of an Appleby Line Petro-Canada station which occurred around 4:30 a.m. This was followed at 6 a.m. by the hold-up of the Petro- Canada station on Lakeshore Road East in Burlington. At 5:30 p.m. the pair hit Subway Sandwiches at 3315 Fairview St. An hour later they robbed the Subway outlet at 4490 Fairview. They then held up Lick's in Oakville. Anyone with information is asked to contact Oakville Detectives at 825-4747 ext. 2316 or Crime Stoppers at 825- 8477. O A K V I L L E B A L L H O C K E Y A lls ta r gam es, p la ye r stats, w e e k ly aw ards, trophies, safe p lay & O n ta rio cham pionships fo r M e n 's o r O ld -T im e rs team registrations C all... 416 2 4 0 -1 6 7 7 T h e m o s t g a m e s at the best p ric e ! P la y w ith the U lt im a te ! Members of Ontario Ball Hockey Association More m eetings se t for developm ent by-law input The Town of Oakville continues to solicit input from the public on its proposed development charges by-law. Three more meetings have been scheduled at Town Hall, located at 1225 Trafalgar Rd. Two of them - April 7th and April 28th - will take place in the Oakville Room. The May 19th meeting will be in the Trafalgar Room. All times have been tentatively set for 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Development charges are fees collected on all new residential and non-residen- tial developments constructed with­ in the municipali­ ty. 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