John Stolarski’s Old Newspaper Clippings

With the exception of his first two years in the Force, John Stolarski spent his entire career as a RCMP Police Dog Services handler (1961 – 1988).

Throughout this career, John clipped newspaper articles about members who he had worked with.

Despite the fact that John has passed away, his family has agreed for us to re-post these articles for the interest of RCMP Veterans and current members of the Force.

For this week, we have included several news articles which relate to the Vancouver Police department and their police dog members.

POLICE DOG RENNIE SNIFFS OUT DRUGS

Photograph of Vancouver Police Department’s Corporal Paul Campbell and Police Dog “Rennie.”

Vancouver police have trained dog to sniff out marijuana and help curb the rising use of the drug in the city.

Chief Ralph Booth said it is the first time in Canada that a  police dog has been trained to track down marijuana.  Rennie, runner-up for the 1964 Best Police Dog of the Year award,has been undergoing training since February.

“It was my idea to have the dog trained,” the chief said.  I saw a successful demonstration of a dog similarly trained in St. Louis, Missouri.

“I wanted our dog demonstrating his new skills last week and was very satisfied.  Rennie is just about ready to start operating.”

“We think he is going to play an important part in controlling the drugs.”

Staff Inspector F.C. Errington, head of the special services squad which includes the 15-police-dog team, said: “A dog lives in a world of odors.  He distinguishes humans by their characteristic smell.”

Photograph of Vancouver Police member Corporal Paul Campbell and police dog “Rennie.”

“Marijuana, even when packed in small quantities and hidden in a house, has a distinctive door – to a dog at any rate.”

Cpl. Paul Campbell, head of the police dog team and Rennie’s trainer, said small quantities of marijuana, enough to make six cigarets, were hidden in a house and Rennie found them.  Other quantities were hidden in a rooming house and again the dog tracked them down.

Cpl. Campbell said there may now be experiments in getting the dog to smell marijuana being spoken which has a characteristics odor  noticeable  to humans.

SPCA Vancouver manager Bob Hosegood said if the effects of marijuana sniffing were not harmful to Rennie, then his organization would have no objections.

STONEY DUMPED BY POLICE

NEW ADDITION – to the Vancouver police canine corps is Stoney, a six-week-old German shepherd which is a gift from RCMP Inspector R.P. Stone of Halifax. Deputy Chief GordonAmbrose was on hand at the airport Thursday when the pup arrived. Valuable dog has long pedigree.

Vancouver – Stoney, a dog that arrived here in a blaze of publicity in 1962, has been drummed out of the police department in disgrace.

“He’s just too damned friendly,” a senior police officer said.

Photographers were at the airport 18 months ago when Stoney, a gift to the department from RCMP Inspector R.P. Stone of Halifax arrived.

He was a dog with a noble background, son of a champion Alsatian in Germany and grandson of a holder of international donors.

He showed excellent promise – he was big, had an excellent nose and good speed.

But….

“He was quite happy to run alongside a man trying to escape and want to shake hands,” said Inspector Bud Arrington, police dog squad chief.

“We felt he might be like an overgrown teenager who is slow to mature.  But perhaps we all made too much fuss of him when he first came and he thought the world was wonderful.”

“He had no enthusiasm for police work.”

THESE DOGS PUT TEETH INTO THE LAW

Head wound was suffered by police dog, Rinty, in Chinatown Thursday night, but he got his man. Minty, pictured with handler, Const. Jock Murray harassed the axe-wielding man until police could subdue him. This is a new technique dogs are trained in. Formerly they were taught to attack.

Vancouver – One day in March, P.C. A.G.M. Mason spotted a man climbing out of a Vancouver factory window.  Shadow, top tog in the city’s canine corps, was dispatched, and minutes later he had the suspect at bay.  It was routine assignment for the big Alsatian, who has been clocked at 34 mph: In 1961 he and five other members of Vancouver’s dog squad assisted in arresting about 300 lawbreakers.  The canine corps – the first municipal one on this continent – was quietly put into operation in 1960 by George Archer, recently retired chief constable.  A few months later it passed the acid test: It staunchly helped curb boisterous 1960 Grey Cup crowds – without nipping even a single merrymaker!

Easy Does It Boss! – A new way to lead a dog’s life is demonstrated by police dog Major. The 70-pound animal can’t climb ladders so his handler, Const. Jim Hartley, has to tote him on his back. It’s one of the exercises shown at the police display at Pacific National Exhibition.