New four-legged recruit joins OPP

OPP Const. Dean Ferris and his K9 partner Siebe. (Grey Bruce OPP)

The OPP has a new team member with some serious skills: a three-year-old Belgian Malinois/Dutch Shepherd named Siebe.

The dog and his handler, Const. Dean Ferris, are now part of the detachment’s K9 Unit, ready to tackle everything from search-and-rescue missions to tracking evidence.

Ferris, who has been with the OPP for five years, previously worked as a frontline officer before taking on this new role.

Siebe’s specialties include finding lost or missing people, tracking suspects, and sniffing out evidence at crime scenes.

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While Siebe is based in the Grey Bruce area, his work won’t stop there. He and Ferris will respond to calls across the West Region when needed, providing support to local officers on a variety of cases.

The OPP K9 Unit has been a vital part of policing in Ontario for over 50 years.

These dogs and their handlers are trained for high-pressure jobs like detecting narcotics, firearms, and explosives, along with helping locate missing people or important evidence.

Anyone wanting to support the K9 Unit can purchase calendar featuring photos of its dogs in action. At $20 each, all proceeds go to two charities: the OPP Youth Foundation, which helps disadvantaged kids across Ontario, and the Friends of the OPP Museum, which works to preserve the force’s history.

The calendars can be purchased online.