Moose Jaw Police Service Acquires New Facilities Dog

By Robert Thomas

The Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) has a new member of the team an accredited facilities dog called Sven. Sven comes after training at the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society in Burnaby, BC.

He was unveiled through the MJPS various social media accounts on Thursday.

Being a facilities dog Sven is accredited as being able to attend court and such things as schools, community groups and other functions. He is not a service dog but rather is classified as a working dog. He has passed his Judicial Field and public access test.

Sven has been specifically trained as a facilities dog for his tasks. Numerous police forces have stated facilities dogs have proven highly effective in helping victims of crime suffering trauma.

Facility dogs are highly trained in specific tasks to assist professionals working in healthcare, rehabilitation, criminal justice or education setting, a service dog is trained to perform a specific task for a person with a disability.

Members of the Police and Crisis Team (PACT) - a partnership with the Moose Jaw Police Service and the Saskatchewan Health District - pose with Sven - photo credit Facebook

“Sven will work along side his handler, our Victim Services Coordinator, Terri Roney. Their role will always remain to support individuals affected by crime and tragedies in our community. Sven brings another layer of trauma informed practice that the Moose Jaw Police Service strives to achieve,” the MJPS said on Facebook.

Sven replaces Kane who retired from MJPS Victim’s Services.