Odie, Victim Services Unit dog, is winding into retirement

Odie is preparing for retirement.

The Bonnyville Victim Services golden-lab is 8 years old and will start to wind down some of his responsibilities.

Since arriving in 2014, he’s been able to help those suffering from trauma at the office, sit through long days at court, and be out at community events with kids.

He was just the second Victim Services dog in Canada at the time.

A new dog is arriving this month with Dogs with Wings, the same place project manager Debbie Winstone applied for Odie.

They train and prepare service dogs for a variety of different careers in the field.

Odie’s new partner is set to arrive sometime this month and they’ll shadow him to learn the position.

Odie is known for comforting children during victim’s interviews with police while also travelling all over the Lakeland to courtrooms as far as Wainwright and Lac La Biche.

As he transitions out of his role, he can be choosier about the days he works until he fully retires in roughly two years.