The end of an era: Merlot the Regina police dog retires after 8 years of service
The end of an era: Merlot the Regina police dog retires after 8 years of service
A long serving member of the Regina Police Service is retiring.
Merlot the facility dog is stepping away from the majority of her duties after eight years of helping children and vulnerable people through traumatic experiences.
“Her job was really just bringing that calming presence to individuals who have to come in and talk about traumatic incidents,” Sgt. Tia Froh, who has been Merlot’s handler throughout her career, said.
“I would do the interview, Merlot would sit on the couch beside the individual that was being interviewed, and just help relax them. Then we would follow them through the judicial process.”
Merlot turned 10 in January. Last year, Froh started to notice some changes in Merlot that ultimately led to the canine’s retirement.
“She was having some health issues so that started me looking into things a little bit more,” Froh said.
“I just started seeing that she wasn’t engaged as much as she had been in the past, difficulty taking on that stress and just the ways that Merlot would present would tell me that the stress was becoming too much.”
Retirement was the best decision for Merlot and her health.
Those who got to observe Merlot’s work over the years say she was a tremendous help for the hundreds of people she assisted.
“Watching how the kids would respond to Merlot and see how their anxiety would be reduced, and you could just see that their stress was lowered when Merlot was there,” Dr. Danielle DeSorcy, clinical psychologist of policing for investigative services, said.
Merlot’s effect went beyond those being interviewed - she was also an asset to members of the Regina Police Service.
“Merlot’s always there. She comes and gives us licks and hugs and it just always makes such a happy and stress free environment,” Dr. DeSorcy said.
“When she comes and visits the main station, she walks in with her tail is wagging, she runs into our offices and we all just kind of [feel relief] and say, ‘There’s Merlot!’ We wish she was here all the time.”
Sgt. Froh now plans to adopt Merlot. Although the facility dog is retiring in an official capacity, she’ll still be around from time to time.
“We could still use her within the area that I’m in now if there are certain circumstances that we think that someone would benefit from her. She might pop in and make some guest appearances,” Froh said.
For the most part, Merlot will now spend her days with the people she loves most, doing what she loves most.
“She loves to exercise, she loves to swim and she loves food,” Froh said.
“So just some naps and relaxing and not having to stress anymore.”
Sgt. Froh said the Regina Police Service has another handler who has been chosen to get a new dog to take over Merlot’s duties. That handler will now wait until a dog match comes through.
“When that happens, RPS and myself will announce that when the dog arrives,” Froh said.
The four children found unresponsive on a shoreline in Portneuf-sur-Mer, Que. Saturday did not survive, provincial police (SQ) have confirmed. The children, all over the age of 10, were among a group of 11 people swept away by the tide overnight while fishing in Quebec's North Shore region. Six of them were rescued and one man is still missing.
The U.S. Ambassador to Canada says America 'absolutely wants to have it both ways' when it comes to fighting climate change while pursuing fossil fuel projects.
New study finds increase in antipsychotic drugs use in long-term care homes across Canada, despite no significant increase in behavioural symptoms – something that may expose a potential area of concern for quality of care, researchers say.
Pope Francis warned the Vatican's missionary fundraisers on Saturday not to allow financial corruption to creep into their work, insisting that spirituality and spreading the Gospel must drive their operations, not mere entrepreneurship.
Canada is open to the idea of including a requirement to cut back on the production of plastic in a new global treaty to eliminate plastic pollution, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Friday.
Photos released by NASA taken from International Space Station show the immense scale of the wildfires in Nova Scotia, with billowing smoke engulfing the landscape.
With two Federal by-elections around the corner in Manitoba, party leaders hit the campaign trail to appeal to voters in Portage-Lisgar and Winnipeg South Centre.
It's the start of a new season at Moraine Lake and for the first time, you will have to take a shuttle bus to access the famous landmark -- no matter how early you're willing to show up.
The four children found unresponsive on a shoreline in Portneuf-sur-Mer, Que. Saturday did not survive, provincial police (SQ) have confirmed. The children, all over the age of 10, were among a group of 11 people swept away by the tide overnight while fishing in Quebec's North Shore region. Six of them were rescued and one man is still missing.
Toronto police say the five suspects involved in a stabbing at Kennedy Station Friday night that left a man in critical condition are between the ages of 12 and 15 years old.
The four children found unresponsive on a shoreline in Portneuf-sur-Mer, Que. Saturday did not survive, provincial police (SQ) have confirmed. The children, all over the age of 10, were among a group of 11 people swept away by the tide overnight while fishing in Quebec's North Shore region. Six of them were rescued and one man is still missing.
The four children found unresponsive on a shoreline in Portneuf-sur-Mer, Que. Saturday did not survive, provincial police (SQ) have confirmed. The children, all over the age of 10, were among a group of 11 people swept away by the tide overnight while fishing in Quebec's North Shore region. Six of them were rescued and one man is still missing.
Police are investigating the "suspicious death" of a man discovered shot dead in downtown Montreal Saturday. According to the SPVM, a man was found around 7:50 a.m. inside an apartment on Saint-Catherine and Beaudry Streets, in Montreal's Gay Village.
A wildfire burning out of control on northern Vancouver Island is now estimated to cover 208 hectares, or just over two square kilometres, provincial wildfire officials said Friday.
A 38-year-old sergeant in the Canadian Army was fined $3,000 and issued a severe reprimand after he made what a military judge described as 'utterly disgusting' anti-Jewish comments while conducting an infantry training course in 2021.
A Halifax-area wildfire that forced thousands of residents from their homes over the past week is 85 per cent contained and no longer spreading, officials said Saturday morning.
Evacuees at the Sandy Wickens Memorial Arena in Barrington, N.S., are out of the fire zone but now face their own battle — how to cope with so much uncertainty, and what lies ahead.
A Sudbury teacher accused of having sex with a student has been found guilty of professional misconduct by the discipline committee of the Ontario College of Teachers.
A late spring heat wave is prompting the Region of Waterloo to remind residents of the need to conserve water when possible as the annual water conservation bylaw takes effect.
