INNISFAIL -- Daelyn van Runt is a special little girl who had a special honour last week.
The six-year-old from Calgary was the Alberta winner, one of 13 across Canada representing every province and territory, of the RCMP's 2019 Name the Puppy contest, which has been held every year since 2001. Van Runt's winning puppy name was Marci.
She was the only winner who had the chance to receive her winning certificate at the world-renowned RCMP Police Dog Services Training Centre, located just south of Innisfail. The other 12 winners from other provinces and territories will be honoured in their home communities.
"To come here for the presentation must have been pretty neat for her," said RCMP Insp. Bill Long, officer in charge of the Innisfail Police Dog Services Training Centre, who gave van Runt a photo of a police dog named Marci who is currently training in Burnaby, B.C.
All contest winners also receive an official RCMP baseball cap, a plush dog called Justice, and a laminated eight- by 10-inch photo of the puppy they named.
Long made the certificate presentation to van Runt prior to the weekly public police dog demonstration at the training centre, and it was well received by the scores of canine lovers in attendance.
Long told the audience there were 34,714 entries from children in every province and territory, a total that beat the previous record by more than 13,000 entries.
"That is quite impressive for a national competition like this. The response this year was incredible," he said, noting the contest is for children 14 years old and younger. "Last year was a high and we outdid the number by 1,000 this year."
Long said the numbers were especially gratifying because community policing initiatives for the national police force are an important priority.
"It is a way for us to connect with the public. Public support locally around here is something we could not operate without," he said. "We train on people's property here, train on their businesses and we have people come to our demos every Wednesday in the summer. Last year for one demonstration we had 1,300 people attending on a Wednesday afternoon. The public support is something we feel strongly about here in Central Alberta and we appreciate it.
"This (puppy contest) is kind of a way to reach out beyond Central Alberta right across Canada to every province and territory," he added, pointing out the dog training centre is popular with schools, and gives the RCMP an opportunity to raise awareness with the young to show what the dog training program is all about. "School teachers like doing this as an activity with their classes. Children in some cases will submit names with pictures, so they are practising their art. Others will do stories and some will do pictures and stories. It becomes a classroom activity for students from all across Canada."
As for the 30-minute canine demonstration, the crowd loved every minute, with each dog deftly working through the commands of their handlers, whether it was for agility, obedience, or simply learning how to get along with their canine colleagues.
Brenda Sawyer, breeding program coordinator at the training centre, said the group on June 4 was comprised of new dog handlers with canine recruits who all started their programs last April. She said their course would go over a total of 85 days for three training levels.
"Most of this crew here are nearing the end of level one," she said. Following the demonstration members of the public were invited to ask questions.
The public demonstrations, which started on the first Wednesday after the May long weekend, will continue on Wednesday afternoons at 2 p.m., rain or shine, until the last Wednesday before the Labour Day weekend. Gates to the training facility open at 1 p.m. It is recommended to citizens that they arrive early.
For more information on the Police Dog Services Training Centre visit the website at www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/depot/pdstc
