Traffic came to a brief stop near Granville Island Tuesday evening as Vancouver police gave a final salute to one of its finest canine officers.
A procession of dozens of officers and family members transported police service dog Bailey on her last Code 3 run down a section of West Fourth Avenue to a local veterinary clinic, with lights flashing but no sirens.
“She was given a hero’s send-off,” said VPD Sgt. Jason Robillard.
Bailey passed away later that evening after an unexpected cancer diagnosis.
Hours earlier on Tuesday morning, Robillard said Bailey suddenly became sick and was rushed to the vet, where it was discovered she had a large tumour and was very ill.
Bailey’s handler and partner, Const. Brian LeQuesne, took her back to the VPD kennel for her final few hours.
Deputy Chief Howard Chow said the canine’s VPD family was there to say goodbye.
“The bond amongst canine officers is only second to the incredible bond between police dogs and handlers,” he tweeted.
Bailey lost her short battle with cancer just two months after marking her eighth birthday, and officially entering into retired life with her handler’s family.
Bailey was born in April 2011 and served seven full years with the VPD before she was forced into early retirement this past January, due to her inability to recover from a back injury.
During her years of service, Bailey nabbed numerous criminals including auto theft, robbery and break-and-enter suspects.
In April 2015, she apprehended a violent suspect following a random attack on a woman on the Seawall.
Three months later, she tracked another violent suspect who broke into HMCS Discovery naval base in Stanley Park.
In January 2016, Bailey and LeQuesne received the Chief Constable’s Commendation for apprehending the suspect in a December 2014 stabbing, hostage taking and carjacking that began at a Surrey grocery store and ended at a Vancouver industrial mill after a dramatic police pursuit.
WATCH: The December 2014 police takedown in Vancouver where PSD Bailey played a major role
When she wasn’t fighting crime, Bailey helped battle the disease that would ultimately take her life, as one of the stars of the annual VPD K9 calendar.
In the 2019 fundraiser for cancer research, Bailey and her handler are featured on the page for February, photographed having coffee at Cartems Donuts on Main Street.
Sales of the 2019 calendar raised more than $150,000 for the BC Cancer Foundation and BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.
On Bailey’s last trip to the vet, officers lined the entrance to support LeQuesne in a final farewell.
The VPD Canine Unit then said goodbye to their fallen officer with a tweet, writing “it was sudden & unexpected as Cancer always is.”
The unit then quoted Guardians of the Night, a common refrain for canine officers laid to rest.
“Trust in me my friend, for I am your comrade. I will protect you with my last breath. When all others have left you and the loneliness of night closes in, I will be at your side.”
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