Decorated Mississauga, Brampton police dog who helped in 366 arrests mourned

Mississauga | Brampton | Community | Latest News | Police |

By

Published October 27, 2022 at 4:13 pm

One of the Peel Regional Police force’s longest-serving and most highly decorated police dogs has died.

Argo, a Belgian Shepherd who helped his partner in the K9 unit, Const. John Cook, make 366 arrests in Mississauga and Brampton since 2013, died on Wednesday (Oct. 26) of natural causes.

He was 11 years old.

Together, Cook and Argo responded to more than 2,600 calls across Peel in their years together and they earned multiple commendations, according to Peel police.

“Rest easy, Argo,” a Peel police tweet posted today (Oct. 27) reads.

Argo is ready for action. (Photo: Peel Regional Police)

The Twitter post prompted numerous responses and condolence messages.

“Condolences. Argo was a champ,” one respondent wrote.

“Gratitude and RIP, dear Argo. You gave more to your community in your 11 years than some adult humans who are still searching for their purpose in life,” another commented.

A Peel police news release from 2018 featured Argo as the force looked to the community for help in providing areas in which Peel police dogs could train with their handlers.

Argo and his partner, Const. John Cook. (Photo: Peel Regional Police)

“Meet Police Service Dog Argo; he’s a 7-year old Belgian Shepherd that is eager to please. He’s trained to track criminals, locate missing people and detect explosives,” the release read.

“Argo works hard every day to help his handler, Const. John Cook, protect the community, but to keep him up to snuff, he and his friends are looking for new places to train within Peel.”

To train police dogs like Argo, Peel police need empty or unused buildings, office complexes, large houses and commercial/manufacturing premises.

They say it’s important that their police dogs receive training in realistic venues to prepare them for duty.

INsauga's Editorial Standards and Policies