Even though he was unable to cut it as a guide dog for the blind, Harley, a two-year-old black lab started his new job with the Red Deer RCMP Victim Services Unit on May 14th.

Raised by an inmate in a Michigan prison, Harley then attended a school for the blind in that state, but apparently he didn't like opening doors, so with the help from the Notre Dame High School graduating class of 2017, money was raised to bring Harley to Red Deer to act as a support dog. 

Harley is a specialized therapy dog, whose job it is to comfort victims of crime, often being used right in the witness box, helping children and other witness of crime by reducing stress.

Coordinator for RCMP Victims Services Constable Holly Erb says, based on what she has seen form service dogs in the past, she thinks all dogs have a sixth sense to be able to locate and comfort the person in the room who is in the most need.

“We do find that with all the service dogs in Victim Services as well as other areas, they tend to go to a person who is experiencing some symptoms of anxiety or stress. That might be a first responder in our office that we see that he tends to go towards or that can be our clients, he will just innately move towards them to provide that assistance.”

Susan Bontje is the administration assistant at Red Deer Victim Services and Harley's main handler.

She says his breed is ideal for the job of providing emotional support and comfort to people in crisis.

“I think just the obedience, because they have to know how to sit and stay, and that was probably my biggest concern because you can’t have a dog leaving the witness box in the middle of a court proceeding so they’re taught to sit and stay, and stay if they need to for a couple of hours.”

She says the presence of service dogs when people are in crisis is proven to slow heart rates, lower blood pressure and help to reduce stress.

Harley is already in high demand, taking part in a mock disaster at Notre Dame the afternoon of May 17th, as well as attending court with victims of crime this week.

Mayor Tara Veer was on hand at City Hall to present Harley with an official dog tag from the city Thursday morning, which is free to all service animals.

The 2017 grad class from Notre Dame raised $38,000 as part of their traditional graduation fundraising efforts.

Harley is presented with his dog license, #13911, from Red Deer’s Mayor Tara Veer on Thursday morning at Red deer City Hall.