Calgary police are welcoming a new four-legged member to their team.
The Calgary Police Service (CPS) announced Tuesday they had added a 12-year-old Percheron cross gelding to their mounted unit.
The gelding, named Ortona, has a background in show jumping and eventing.
The new addition comes following the loss of service horse Ranger in November 2016. Ranger, a 10-year-old gelding, was euthanized following an complication that occurred during a routine procedure.
Ortona is the second horse in the mounted unit to be named under a new tradition honouring Canadian veterans by naming horses after historical Canadian battles.
The Battle of Ortona occurred during the Second World War in Italy in December 1943. More than 1,300 Canadians were killed during the week of fighting.
In a Tuesday news release, the CPS said having officers on horseback provides unique advantages to the service that officers in patrol cars are sometimes limited by, such as having a higher observation vantage point.
“As well, officers can be more effective in urban search and rescue situations, patrolling of parks, wooded areas and riverbanks, and in crowd management and de-escalation.”