KUDOS TO KATO
Windsor Police Service dog Kato sits next to handler Const. Lance Montigny on Monday during a retirement ceremony at the Major FA Tilston Armoury and Police Training Centre. Over his eight years with the K-9 unit, Kato has assisted in more than 100 arrests.
As his longtime handler pointed out Monday, there are no beach houses or golf courses in Kato’s future, but after 3,000 calls for service and assisting in more than 100 arrests, the time has arrived for the longtime Windsor police dog to step aside into the quiet life of retirement.
“I am proud of the work we did together,” said Const. Lance Montigny, Kato’s longtime partner and trainer. “He is still going to be my partner. The animal believes it’s still time to work, but now he’s going to protect my garage.” Kato was first put into service in September 2010. Since that time, he has been involved in countless scenarios of chasing down fleeing suspects, sniffing out firearms and narcotics or even being involved in armed standoffs.
During Kato’s appearance at his retirement announcement, the 11-year-old dog showed he still has plenty of spirit and life within, constantly yipping at Montigny ’s side. “He is 11 now, but he is still squawking today because he thinks we are about to do some work,” he said. While it was a bittersweet day for the partnership of Montigny and Kato, the local canine unit officer has also been looking forward to his new sidekick, Nik — a German shepherd originally from Slovakia who arrived in August and began active duty this week.
He was one of two dogs to begin active duty this week with the other being Coal, also a German shepherd, from the Czech Republic, who will be partnered with Const. Eric Willson.
After a lengthy search, both new police dogs were selected from among 75 inspected by Montigny to be the newest police dogs with Windsor’s local police canine unit, which now includes six dogs overall.
Dogs are intentionally bred for police or military duty in countries overseas that include the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany. That is why the search for the right dogs goes global.
“They have a good dog-breeding program,” said Sgt. Rob Wilson, who oversees the local police department’s canine unit. “We look for the Michael Jordan of dogs, and we believe we found them.” To date, the two new police dogs have undergone 15 weeks of intense training with their new partners, which, aside from sniffing out suspects, narcotics or firearms, also includes a bomb-detection component.
But despite being pressed into duty, they will still undergo another three years of active training to improve their skills over time. “These two dogs are exceptional,” Montigny said. “The dog (Willson) has is the fastest German shepherd I have ever seen in my life.
“These animals, we put a lot of time in with them. They really kind of turn into pack animals with us where we understand what they want and they know exactly what we want. “