True and Fascinating Canadian History
Vet of the Month: September, 2017
Reg.#54868, Constable David Ross
Honour Roll # 234
& Police Service Dog 'Danny'
RCMP Vets. Ottawa, ON
Constable Dave Ross was one of the three RCMP Constables killed in the line of duty including Reg.#49269, Constable D. J. Larche and Reg.#55685, Constable F. G. Gevaudan while they responded to a call of an armed and dangerous shooter on June 4, 2014 in Moncton, New Brunswick. Canada.
Dave Ross was born in Victoriaville, QC on May 22, 1982. As a young man, he dreamed of becoming a police officer, and his first ambition came true when he successfully joined the RCMP in 2007.
For a long time in the background, Constable Ross had followed a strict and demanding physical regime which he knew was a requirement for his second dream -- another ambition which he fully intended to seize -- to join the RCMP's elite Police Service Dog Section as a Dog Master.
Constable Ross knew that competition for a coveted position in the Police Dog Service was strict and tough. And yet, he was not fazed by the challenge, he might well have said to himself, "I've climbed mountains before, what's one more?". It is estimated that only one out of every dozen applicants are successful in the RCMP Service Dog Program. It was this quiet, and inner determination that made Constable Ross so motivated, so well liked by his pals and so highly successful in the RCMP. For all of his work and all of his heart, he deserves all the praise in the world.
Within police circles, it's no secret that Dog Masters hold a special place in the heart of all police officers. First and foremost, Dave was successful in the field as an investigator so he had an excellent chance of being selected into the Dog Section. As well, he had the support and the signature of his line supervisors which is also a mandatory requirement for every applicant into the Dog Service Program.
Indeed, the role, the expertise and the value of the Service Dog Master to investigators cannot be underestimated; it begins with an urgent call for help, the Dog Master is usually one of the first police officers on the scene, then he or she immediately launches their Service Dog into a long endurance chase after receiving an overview of the offence, the file and the fugitive from the on-site investigators.
Dave Joseph Ross was a graduate of the Police Foundations Program at La Cité Collégiale in Ottawa, ON. Fully bilingual, he joined the RCMP in early January 2007, and he had always intended to be an RCMP Dog Master. It was mandatory that he first spend a few years as a general investigator, then he was a successful applicant into the
Police Dog Section. He was in excellent physical condition -- Dog Masters have always been reputed to be top athletes -- it was said that they invented physical conditioning before the Canada Games were inaugurated.
Next, it was off to specialized training at the RCMP's Central Police Dog Facilities in Innisfail, AB. According to RCMP Instructional Staff, Dave was highly experienced and respected, a team player, and kind and gentle. He was known as one of the most popular Dog Handers in the Section. He rarely sat still because he grasped the importance of continuous testing and training his Service Dog 'Danny'. The two made a cohesive team.
From the very outset, the whole process to be successful into the Police Service Dog Section is stressful -- it's all part of the overall assessment by experienced evaluators to determine if the applicant can handle the additional responsibility of caring for themselves as well as the RCMP Service Dog, for working long shifts alone in all kinds of weather, whether or not the applicant fully understands the inherent dangers which accompany the field work, and an ability to be an independent and trustworthy decision maker under highly unusual and dangerous circumstances. Under field conditions, the Dog Master works and tracks alone.
But performance evaluations are not only conducted on the Dog Handler by an experienced instructional staff, but by their peers as well. Frequent peer cross-checking evaluations keep the Dog Master up to speed and relevant by learning innovative or creative evasive tactics used by suspects. Listening to other Dog Masters is all a matter of diminishing the danger. The RCMP Dog Service Section is an unusally tightly knit group of young men and women all banded together by common practice -- to support the field investigator. Everyone mourned after hearing about the loss of Dave Ross.
Dave's Police Service Dog 'Danny' mourned his loss quietly too.
The death of Constable Ross is a dim reminder to all police officers about the incredible dangers which the RCMP Dog Master faces. One only has to recall other Dog Masters who have been killed in the line of police work and, over the years there has been; Constable Willis E. Rhodeniser (D:1939), Corporal George Ronald Hawkins (D:1968), Constable Michael Joseph Buday (D:1985) and Corporal James Wilbert Gregson Galloway (D:2004).
I learned from other New Brunswickers about the valuable contributions made to the RCMP and the community of Moncton by Constable Ross, Constable Larche and Constable Gevaudan. Their kindness, selflessness, and their devotion to duty on behalf of their community will be recalled for a long, long time. The City of Moncton will not be the same without them.
Constable Ross was buried in Moncton, NB. xR. I. P.
Reporting from Fort Healy,
J. J. Healy
September 23, 2017
