Potential police dog-in-training Pebbles with officer Kyle Bengston outside Vernon City Hall. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters)

By Pete McIntyre & Liam Verster

Pebbles the police pup

Police dog puppy pays visit to City Hall

May 9, 2022 | 4:00 PM

The start of today’s Vernon council meeting went to the dogs.

A six-month old puppy named Pebbles, who is in training to become a police dog, was brought to council chambers as part of Superintendent Shawna Baher’s quarterly report to council.

“She [Pebbles] is currently imprinting with one of our new members [Kyle Bengston]. He actually came with the puppy, transferred in, so he’s been here probably about three months. The puppy obviously came with him, and we’ll support that because we do have an active PDS [police dog services] program here.”

Baher said the young dog will train with officer Bengston, and if she passes all the exams, she could become a police dog. Pebbles’ mother is in the police dog breeding program in Innisfail, Alta. after previously being in Vernon.

“One of the puppies we had here about a year and a half ago, we raised it, and it imprinted with a member and then it went and passed all its tests to become a police dog,” Baher explained to Vernon Matters. “And because of her quality, I guess, they wanted to have her in the breeding program in Innisfail and instead of becoming a police dog, she stayed as a police dog for the breeding program. So that dog, is now the puppy of Pebbles.”

Sexual Assault of A Minor Case

Decision in retrial of sexual assault case rescheduled

59m ago

Snow, Winter Storm Warnings

Snowfall warning lifted for North Okanagan, winter storm warnings for area highways still in place

4h ago

August 2023 Crash

Charges laid in helicopter crash near Enderby

22h ago

Baher said the training to become a police dog for about a year and a half.

“The dog has to pass all its tests. Obviously being in the puppy stage right now, the tests are very small, but it’s an incremental step and finally the dog will be hopefully passing.”

Potential police dog-in-training Pebbles with officer Kyle Bengston. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters)

The Vernon North Okanagan detachment currently has two active police dogs named Jagger and Hawkes.

Bengston, the new officer at the detachment, was also introduced to council by Baher. He comes to the Vernon area with four years of police experience.

“Right now, he’s a general duty policeman, but one of the things people do to get ready to be a police dog handler is they usually do imprinting,” said Baher. “Imprinting is what he’s doing now, so he hopes to one day join the police dog service, and this is his way of sort of getting into that.”