Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
She's got a nose for the job
Cinder's specialty is chasing down suspects by their scent
TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS - Cinder, a police dog and Constable Rob Tighe of the Canine Unit. 09-10-14
She's a female icon in a field dominated by males, now entering the final stages of her illustrious career after proving the naysayers wrong.
But on a recent afternoon, Cinder the police dog was more interested in bounding after a neon orange ball in a field in the St. Boniface industrial park than basking in any visitor's attention.
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Cinder is an eight-year-old Belgian Malinois who tracks down criminals with her handler, Const. Rob Tighe of the Winnipeg Police Service Canine (K9) Unit.
One of 10 police dogs with the K9 unit, her specialty is chasing down suspects by their scent or by disturbed vegetation they leave behind.
The process of following a specific scent from one destination to another is called tracking.
"It's a male-dominated profession," said Const. Rob Tighe, Cinder's handler.
"Anywhere where someone is running from the scene of a crime, we would be called to assist."
Cinder's a tracker who's caught bank robbers and car thieves, averaging about 30 arrests per year.
Beyond finding criminals running away from police or evidence they drop, she can also sniff out drugs such as cocaine or ecstasy.
"She's got a great personality as far as being friendly, but she can turn it on or off at any time," said Tighe.
It hasn't always been easy.
When she was born, Cinder was going to be a breeder for the Canine Unit.
Eventually, Cinder bowled over the officers by her skill at picking up scents and tracking them.
Cinder's up to 30 per cent smaller than a male Malinois, but she's got a dominant personality and a determined nature.
There was a period when Cinder was bounced from duty as a tracker and trained as a search-and-rescue dog.
Thanks to Tighe -- who asked to train with her and had her reinstated as a tracker -- the 58-pound dog earned her way back into the unit and now has a marquee status due to her 2005 appearance on the Life Network program Dogs with Jobs. She's also the only Canadian police dog profiled in a forthcoming book called Badge on My Collar II: To Serve with Honour. The American book contains an entire chapter dedicated to Cinder's exploits, including the time she found a restaurant robber who'd fled to a Winnipeg home and pretended to be sleeping there.
Tighe said the most common misconception about police dogs such as Cinder is that they're cuddly. Not so.
"Our dogs are trained to apprehend criminals so they're trained to bite," he said.
Before Cinder tracks, she's outfitted with $2,000 worth of body armour made especially for police dogs to help protect them from weapons or physical attacks.
Trackers like Cinder are trained to pick up on adrenaline, a "fear scent" Tighe said suspects give off.
They pursue suspects, corner them, and can bite them if they refuse arrest, said Tighe.
Cinder also alerts officers to abandoned evidence like discarded clothing or weapons.
The Canine Unit also has three detector dogs, animals that are trained specifically to sniff out explosives.
When she's not working, Tighe said Cinder is "sociable" and loves to play.
He expects Cinder will have one or two more years as a tracker if she remains in good health.
The officer and Tighe spend hours together each day honing her tracking skills.
Cinder is an outdoor dog who sleeps at Tighe's home, and she'll continue living with Tighe when she retires.
"This is her life," he said.
"(Your dog) truly becomes a partner."
gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca
10
Number of
officers in
the Canine
(K9) unit
10
Number of
canine unit dogs
that are trackers or
explosive/drug detectors
2
Number of
female dogs
in the unit
65-70
pounds:
How much
a male Malinois
weighs
58-59
pounds:
How much
Cinder weighs
-- Winnipeg Police Service
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 17, 2009 B1
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PREVIOUS
8 Comments
Posted by: on the go
October 19, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Great to hear about another one of WPG's K9's. I am sure Cinder will make a difference. ltlwing take a step back and think about what your saying. If she is biting you, then you are at the wrong end of the law and doing something your not supposed to be doing. I am quite sure the dog knows the difference between taking down a bad guy and helping out some one who is in trouble and actually wants to be found.
Posted by: newtopeg
October 17, 2009 at 7:01 PM
senior lady., I agree ltlwing probably hates dogs/cops or both...I am sure the police don't train them to roll over and lick the criminal..some people just complain about anything
Posted by: Senior Lady
October 17, 2009 at 4:23 PM
ltlwing: I thought it was a great story! I'm wondering why you didn't enjoy it and why you felt you had to "trash" it. It sounds like you hate dogs and police officers or both??
Or is it some sort of envy??
Posted by: lwj01998
October 17, 2009 at 4:04 PM
Much better than a helicopter. We could have a lot of smart dogs like this for the cost and the maintenance of a helicopter.
Great news.. Might make a few of these hoodlums sit up and take notice.
Posted by: Mick
October 17, 2009 at 1:31 PM
Go Cinder! Catch those criminals! And before they lock 'em up, bite 'em once, hard, for me.
Posted by: Mom2Three
October 17, 2009 at 12:21 PM
My favorite breed of dog! So beautiful and graceful...and fierce!
Posted by: ltlwing
October 17, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Story? What story? It reads like a report written by a seven-year-old for a five-year-old audience. If this is the state of "journalism" at the Free Press, no wonder it's in such financial straits.
Why are female dogs not used? Is it strictly the weight/size difference? How many of Cinder's captures ended in bites? How severe are the bites the dogs are trained to give? How many of those bitten required medical attention? Why was Cinder bounced off tracking duty? What trainer in their right mind would send a 60-ish pound dog of a breed perceived to be one of the scariest, actually trained to bite, into a search and rescue scenario?
Posted by:
October 17, 2009 at 8:41 AM
What a wonderful story. Way to go Cinder.