Died – 10\/14\/17
\nHandler – Sgt. Derrick Gibson<\/p>\n
Teak, Vancouver police dog hall-of-famer, passes away after cheating death twice<\/p>\n
Three-hundred suspects nailed, two brushes with death, and a hall of fame induction. These are just a few achievements that help to sum up the life of Teak, a retired Vancouver police dog who died on Saturday. Vancouver police announced Teak\u2019s death on Sunday, calling him a \u201ctrue guardian of the night.\u201d Teak, a German shepherd, was known as \u201cprobably one of the toughest dogs we\u2019ve ever had here,\u201d Sgt. Derrick Gibson, the dog\u2019s partner and the one with whom he lived out his retirement, told Global News in December. The pair were together for some dramatic arrests. Teak entered the Purina Hall of Fame in 2013, after an arrest that nearly killed him. Gibson and Teak had been called to an armed robbery at an East Vancouver gas station on Jan. 11, 2013. Kyle Scott Martin, the suspect, took off after Gibson threatened to send in his canine partner, who then brought the 20-year-old down after chasing him for about 50 metres. Martin stabbed Teak repeatedly, leaving a 25-centimetre stab wound. Still, the police dog would not let his suspect go. \u201cHe didn\u2019t stop,\u201d Gibson told Global News. \u201cHe fought through, did everything I asked of him until I released him from the suspect.\u201d Teak bled from the neck and received emergency surgery. The stabbing would have hit his jugular if it had gone one centimetre deeper, Gibson said. Teak was named the 2013 Purina Service Dog of the Year, and was inducted into the Purina Hall of Fame. He retired that same year, and lived out his post-work life with Gibson\u2019s family. Gibson received a 2012 Police Honours Meritorious Service Award after a dramatic chase involving Teak that resulted in the arrest of an ex-football player in connection with sexual assaults on women that happened in public places. Teak gained a hold of the suspect\u2019s leg after he resisted arrest, but he tried to pull the canine\u2019s jaws apart. The suspect subsequently took off but Teak caught up to him and bit his arm. But this, too, didn\u2019t stop him, as the man kept running with a dog attached to him. The man fought Teak off, but still, the dog wouldn\u2019t give up. He once again took hold of the man\u2019s leg, but the suspect wouldn\u2019t stop running. Finally, the pursuit ended up in a dead-end lane, according to police. The suspect tried to climb a 10-foot wall as Teak gripped his left thigh. Gibson then entered the lane with a firearm at the ready. But the suspect charged at Gibson and a struggle carried on before more officers joined the fray and the man was arrested. Teak\u2019s struggles didn\u2019t end with his retirement from the Vancouver police, however. A cancerous growth was found in his bowels as he recovered from the stabbing incident; he beat it after six rounds of treatment. Then, in 2014, he hurt his left front leg as he spun on it, and veterinarians recommended that it be amputated. He lived the rest of his life with three legs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Died – 10\/14\/17 Handler – Sgt. Derrick Gibson Teak, Vancouver police dog hall-of-famer, passes away after cheating death twice Three-hundred suspects nailed, two brushes with death, and a hall of fame induction. These are just a few achievements that help to sum up the life of Teak, a retired Vancouver police dog who died on …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[69],"class_list":["post-4050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-k9memorial","tag-british-columbia"],"yoast_head":"\n