Have you wondered what happens when a facility dog retires? Kim Gramlich of the Delta Police Victim Services in Delta British Columbia joins us to discuss the retirement of facility dog Caber. She also shares what it’s like bringing a new facility dog into the mix. As the first handler in Canada Kim is a wealth of knowledge on best practices getting started and managing a successful facility dog program.
Episode Highlights
0:45 – Meet Kim Gramlich with the Delta Police Services in Delta British Columbia
3:38 – The NOVA conference leads to the discovery of facility dogs
5:30 – Creation of a facility program in Canada
6:30 – Kim meets her facility dog Caber in 2010
8:05 – Signs a facility dog is close to retirement
10:50 – Changes in Caber that Kim observed
12:00 – Jim shares health issues that could impact the facility dog as well
14:30 – Colleen & Jim reflect on changes they’ve noticed as their dogs have aged
16:45 – Finding an internal champion to support the program
18:30 – Winston Sason helps proactively address concerns
21:00 – Educating those that are still not familiar with the facility dogs in court
22:15 – How Canada’s testimonial accommodation supports those testifying during legislation
27:15 – The handlers role during testimonial accommodation
28:00 – Acclimating the dog to different standards internationally
30:30 – Caber & Puma’s personality differences
33:40 – Colleen’s experiences with Russell & Blake
36:15 – Reminding and reinforcing commands with Frannie
39:00 – The ways our learned behavior is managed
40:00 – How COVID is impacting the training facility dogs have
41:50 – Kims experience retiring Caber and introducing Puma to work
47:00 – Colleen & Kim’s emotional connection to their facility dogs
53:15 – Creating the best situation for the dog and handlers
56:00 – Highly trained professionals equipped to navigate the graphic aspects of the criminal justice system
59:10 – Support handlers receive while doing this work
1:01:30 – The resilience of the facility dogs vs your pet at home
1:03:00 – Studying the mental health of both the handlers and facility dogs
1:04:45 – Facility dogs help those within an organization manage daily stress
1:06:30 – How these programs benefit all first responders
1:07:50 – Cabers most impactful moment as a facility dog
Links To References
National Association For Victims Assistance