Canine Team Receives Prestigious Life Saving Team Award
On October 3rd, 2018 Peel Regional Police Constable Kurtis Vaughan and his canine partner Timber received a Life Saving Team Award from the National Association of Professional Canine Handlers (NAPCH) for locating a five-year-old missing child.
In the early morning hours of July 19, 2018, a five-year-old boy was reported missing from a Brampton residence. Peel Regional Police uniform officers flooded the area and began their search efforts. Cst. Kurtis Vaughan and his partner Timber attended the call and located the boy in a wooded area near a set of train tracks. The child was unconscious and suffering from serious life-threatening injuries. He was transported to a trauma centre where he was treated. The assistance of PSD Timber and Cst. Vaughan in quickly locating the child was an essential part of his survival.
“A call like this, an opportunity to save a life, makes the countless hours of training and a whole career worthwhile. The successful outcome in this case was a team effort. I’m thankful to the quick and decisive actions of all officers and paramedics involved in this call. I also credit our success to the training PSD Timber and I received from the Master Trainer of our unit,” said Cst. Vaughan.
Cst. Vaughan is a 16 year veteran of the Peel Regional Police service who has worked in a number of uniform patrol and investigative units prior to joining the Canine Unit in 2017. His partner Timber is a two and a half year old male Belgian Shepherd who was born in Hungary and began his Police Service Dog training with Cst. Vaughan at the age of 14 months.
NAPCH hosts an annual weeklong training seminar and conference for top trainers and canine teams from all across North America. The event takes place at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Centre in Alpena, Michigan. As part of the event, the Association recognizes excellence in the field. The Life Saving Award is presented to a canine team who has shown extraordinary efforts in preserving a life. The award is the highest and most prestigious of those awarded by the NAPCH.
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