Students at Belmont Secondary and Royal Bay Secondary got to see a police dog demonstration at their schools during the West Shore RCMP’s 2024 Mountie Cup.
Police dogs Luthor and Porter and their handlers Const. Dave Hough and Const. Britteny George put on the presentations Friday (Feb. 2).
The demonstrations were held to get more students thinking about joining a police force.
“We were able to show some of our basic profiles and how we train our dogs,” George said. “The foundation of training for us is obedience so that’s what I demonstrated. We’ve talked to some students and quite a few want to pet the puppies. We’ve piqued quite a bit of interest, and the dogs probably help with that.”
RCMP officers were at both schools to answer questions and interact with students.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to engage with the high school kids,” Hough said. “They seem to have a genuine interest in what we do, and that’s really nice to see. They’re actually super engaged and ask a lot of good questions. We can answer some of those questions and potentially make someone interested in this career.”
The Mountie Cup is a senior girl’s basketball tournament with 16 teams held at the two schools, and it wraps up on Saturday.
READ MORE: West Shore RCMP promotes women in policing with Mountie Cup