Beloved Montreal police dog Monty retires after seven years

After seven years of service, Monty the German Shepherd is retiring from the Montreal police force.

After seven years of loyal service to the Montreal Police, Monty the German Shepherd is retiring at age nine.

He’s a member of Québec’s Animal Hall of Fame and, these days, there’s more playtime for Monty now that he’s off-duty.

“He enjoys relaxing and spending time with his family and his toys,” said his longtime handler, Const. Patrick Desjardins, adding that Monty was a hardworking partner on the force.

“Monty is a very courageous dog, very curious dog, and a very loyal dog. And those are all traits that really, really helped him during his career and really helped me to perform well on the road with him,” Desjardins said.

Monty can sniff out and track just about anything.

“He’s found guns. He’s found missing people. He’s found suspects and evidence that was left on scene,” Desjardins said, adding Monty was also an ambassador for the police force.

“I’ve been in a lot of schools to meet with kids and so he’s a very good at community events.”

Monty now lives with Desjardins and family. Since four-footed service members don’t get a pension, Ned’s Wish, a national, non-profit organization is helping make Monty’s retirement comfortable.

Stacey Talbot is one of the many volunteers helping give service dogs a proper retirement.

“There really is no funding for them in their after care. And, you know, they have served just like two legged officers and they have protected the public, they protected their handlers,” Talbot said.

After a lifetime of service, Monty needs a bit of extra care that adds up $400 a month for hypoallergenic food and daily medicine.

“As they get older and they need special food, they need medications to help them be a little bit more comfortable and enjoy that retirement,” Talbot added.

During all those years in the line of duty, Monty followed commands and was rewarded with his favourite toy, which Monty now gets to play with all day.

“That’s the perk of retirement: he has access to it 24/7,” Desjardins said.