Victoria, BC – VicPD’s newest police service dog (PSD) was officially awarded his badge in a ceremony that took place in the Esquimalt Council Chambers last night. PSD Bodi joins the VicPD K9 team as an explosives detection dog, and has already been deployed in response to calls and in support of operations throughout Victoria and Esquimalt after finishing his basic course in June 2017.
PSD Bodi came to VicPD early in 2017. He originally hails from Washington State. He’s a rambunctious Chocolate Lab, who turned one at the start of April. PSD Bodi received his name as part of a naming contest put forth to elementary students in Victoria and Esquimalt. The winning student was from George Jay elementary and Bodi’s name stands for “Bomb Odour Detected Immediately”. The winning student’s class was awarded a pizza party for their great work.
PSD Bodi’s partner, Cst. Eric Lequesne, is a 9-year VicPD member. He has been with the K9 unit since September 2013 when he started his basic course with his German Shepherd partner PSD Diesel. Cst. Lequesne also currently manages VicPD K9’s official Twitter account @vicpdk9.
VicPD has been working to both reduce our costs and enhance our in-house training capability. PSD Bodi was trained by our own VicPD K9 Sgt. Mike Chicorelli and K9 training Cst. Calvin Ewer and can detect over 13 explosive odours. His badging denotes that he has passed his training and is now ready for full deployment.