Hawk, the trailblazing trauma dog with Calgary Police Service, dies at 14

August 16, 2024 Canuck

Ten years after he became the first dog in Canada to support a victim during their testimony in court, Calgary Police Service’s Hawk has died.

Hawk, a 14-year-old Labrador retriever, passed away peacefully on Thursday, CPS announced.

The trailblazing service dog joined the police force in September 2013.

Hawk, who graduated from specialized training by the Pacific Assistance Dog Society (PADS), was CPS’s first dog on the victim assistance support team (VAST).

At the time, he was only the third trauma dog of his kind in Canada.

A court sketch of a child beside a dog. — Hawk the trauma dog, a specially trained Labrador retriever, helped a seven-year-old girl testify at a sexual assault trial against her father in 2014. (Janice Fletcher)

The next year, Hawk became the first dog in the country to sit with a victim as they testified in court.

In October 2014, prosecutor Rose Greenwood made an application to expand legislation that allowed for a “support person” to accompany a victim.

Justice Bruce Millar granted the application, opening the door for hundreds of other dogs across the country to be permitted to provide emotional support to vulnerable people, often children, as they gave testimony in the courtroom.

A black lab sits between a police officer and a woman. — Sgt. Brett Hutt, left, was Hawk’s first handler. Hutt and Kathlynn Funfer both worked in the Calgary Police Service’s victim assistance unit. (Meghan Grant/CBC)

At Greenwood’s trial, Hawk was allowed to sit with two children as they testified: a seven-year-old girl who had been sexually abused by her father and her nine-year-old brother, who was a witness in the trial.

“There was an immediate trust there,” said Greenwood.

“We were hoping that this becomes the norm, and a decade later, it is. The norm is to have children with court support dogs whenever they have to testify in criminal trials.”

Calgary Police Service’s trauma dog Hawk joined the service in 2013 and retired in 2021. (Calgary Police Service )

Hawk worked with CPS for eight years before he hung up his collar to enjoy retirement in June 2021.

In his retirement announcement, CPS called the courts’ allowance of the support dog as a trial resource “one of the greatest achievements of Hawk’s career.”

There are now three CPS VAST dogs who provide support to witnesses at more than 50 trials each year.

Hawk also worked to provide comfort to victims outside of the courthouse, in one instance, providing comfort to witnesses in the Brentwood stabbing case.

Sgt. Brent Hutt, Hawk’s first handler, said the dog had “amazing intuition” and was known to “walk into a room, bypass people that he knows … and go to the victim and curl up with [them].”

CPS said in a statement on Friday that “Hawk touched the lives of countless Calgarians with his unwavering compassion & unshakeable dedication to serving others.”

“Our brave & compassionate companion, we thank you for your service, for the lives you positively impacted & for the legacy you leave behind.”

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Hawk, the trailblazing trauma dog with Calgary Police Service, dies at 14

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