Kelowna RCMP welcomes new canine recruit to the team

Kelowna police are welcoming a new four legged recruit on their team, an 11-week-old German shepherd named Nats. 

Nats was born at the Police Dog Service Training Centre in Innisfail, Alberta and joined the Kelowna RCMP detachment three weeks ago. 

He will be trained by a general duty officer who he joins everyday on duty. The focus of his training is to become comfortable in all environments including being exposed to new people, and how to track suspects. 

Nats is related to Police Service Dog Ice who is an active police service dog with Kelowna Detachment as well as retired Police dog Talon. He has already passed his initial training standards at 7 weeks old, and will start his official training at 12 to 18 months old.

Once his training is complete, Nats may be posted anywhere in Canada, just like human recruits. 

To check out Nats' progress, follow the Kelowna RCMP Facebook and Twitter accounts as they document his training journey. 

To contact a reporter for this story, email Brie Welton or call (250) 819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.