Edmontonians had a chance to catch one of Canada's best search and disaster dogs in action this weekend at the Edmonton Pet Expo.
Cken was bred for the French army but was too friendly to make the cut.
“He will not hold the bite. He's not an aggressive dog at all so they had to wash him out of the program,” said Silvie Montier, CASDDA Training Coordinator and Cken’s trainer.
Cken is now one of only two dogs in Canada with what’s known as a ‘B Certification’, which is the highest and most demanding level of training for a search and disaster dog.
“Cken was the first to pass it in North America,” said Montier.
Cken and Montier also have international certification, which has taken them to the scene of several disasters, including the earthquake in Nepal where they helped save a five-year-old boy.
“He (the boy) was trapped under rubble. He had a crushed foot so we brought him down to Kathmandu from a very remote village.”
Cken has suffered several injuries on duty. He’s even survived jumping off a roof.
However, Montier said they’ve developed a close bond and she can now predict his next move.
“Now I know what he's going to do so I can stop him in time, but yeah, he's not an easy dog to live with… excellent at what he does though.”
With files from CTV's Amanda Anderson
