Ned’s Wish is honoured to welcome and pay tribute to PSD Hunter, who has been watching over us since his passing in 2004. Like many of his canine colleagues, Hunter was trained in Innisfail in 1992, but unlike many, he was working the streets at the tender age of 14 months, which is extremely young for a fully trained PSD.
Hunter was very adept in all General Duty PSD profiles, what handlers call specializations. He enjoyed successes in the apprehension of criminals and tracking missing persons searches in 3 very different locations: Nanaimo, BC, from July, 1992 to August, 1994; Yarmouth, NS, from August 1994 to March, 1997; and finally in St Paul, AB, from March 1997 to March 1999.
Among his biggest successes, Hunter was instrumental in finding physical evidence that resulted in the identification of a serious sexual offender who was later found guilty and designated a high risk habitual offender.
Hunter loved to visit elementary school classes. The children would be sitting on their hands on the floor (to avoid sudden hand movement or flinching that could be misinterpreted as aggression) and he would invariably put them at ease by running through the group and laying some kisses on giggling faces. The kids were told that PSDs are smart, have amazing senses of smell and that Hunter would report back on which kids hadn’t brushed their teeth or washed their face that morning.
Hunter retired on April 8, 1999, and succeeded his canine colleague Faro into the care of his Veterinarian, Dr. Al Runnels. Like Faro, Hunter loved his time on the 2 acres of ocean front property and walks down the beach. Hunter enjoyed 5 years of blissful retirement before developing hip and spine issues in his later years – lucky for him ‘dad’ was a doctor with experience in elderly police dogs Hunter passed away in early 2004 and he is missed to this day.