@204queenb0574.bsky.social:
Carney’s cut this program entirely. Asshole.
Lost in Banff’s wilderness: how a Parks Canada search dog found 73-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s, An online petition launched by Banff MP William Stevenson calling on Parks Canada to reverse the decision to end the search-and-rescue dog program has garnered more than 11,000 signatures by Cathy Ellis, Nov 5, 2026, Rocky Mtn Outlook
BANFF – A Parks Canada search-and-rescue dog saved the life of a 73-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s, finding the hiker who had been missing for several hours deep in the wilderness of Banff National Park five years ago.
With his handler Logan Bennett, the highly trained German shepherd named Leroy tracked overdue Banff hiker, Pat Haney, for nine gruelling hours in the pitch dark, across icy rivers and difficult terrain, and through blustering winds and driving snow for 22 kilometres on Nov. 9, 2021.
“There’s no doubt that Pat would have been in a more perilous situation if Logan and the dog wouldn’t have led them straight to her,” said husband Bob Haney, who is a retired chief park warden for Banff National Park and former Banff town councillor.
“The memory loss and confusion that day led her to doing many dangerous things, crossing the river three or four times and it was in the dark … the dog obviously proved itself and saved a lot of time and probably ended up saving Pat’s life.”
Along with more than 11,000 people who have signed an online petition launched by Banff MP William Stevenson calling on Parks Canada to reverse the decision to end the search-and-rescue dog program, Bob is joining that chorus.
“It’s proven itself so many times,” said Bob referring to avalanche recoveries, finding lost hikers and helping with law enforcement.
What started as an avalanche dog program in the 1970s, Parks Canada served notice last month that it was ending – the latest victim in a series of Parks Canada layoffs due to deep federal government budget cuts to the tune of about $145 million over three years.
to rather give our money to fucking already super rich Nazi American military, American oil and gas, American Nazi billionaire genocidal thieving insane lying error laden mass murdering highly polluting toxic tech/AI bros
Stevenson, the MP for the Yellowhead riding that covers Banff National Park, was expected to present his online petition, including written signatures needed to meet petition requirements, to parliament on Wednesday (Nov. 4).
Last week, following hundreds of emails to his constituency office, he sent a letter to the federal environment and climate change minister, Julie Dabrusin, and is also seeking a meeting with Andrew Campbell, Parks Canada’s acting CEO. He has raised the issue several times in the House of Commons over the past week and a half.
Stevenson said the dog program is essential to park visitor safety and is a “small team that has a huge impact on visitor safety,” noting the issue has raised serious concerns throughout his constituency.
“This program saves lives … this hits to the heart of safety for a lot of people,” he said, noting Banff National Park now attracts about 4.5 million visitors per year.
“It’s very well understood that the federal government has a deficit and all departments and all agencies have been requested to come up with cuts, but I do believe ending this program is not the best choice.”
On the November afternoon Pat went missing, Bob recalled his wife was well prepared with adequate clothing and equipment before setting off in the area of the Pipestone cross-country ski trails.
Although she had hiked and skied this area many times, she had gone off route and become lost. She had no headlamp, but had warm clothing. She was also carrying bear spray.
When located at about 2 a.m., Pat indicated to her Parks Canada rescuers that she was OK to keep going to find shelter for the night. An attempt to get her to a nearby warden cabin was thwarted by the Pipestone River.
By 3:30 a.m., another rescue specialist who had been trailing about five km behind Bennett and Leroy had set up a tent and got a fire going. Bennett and search dog Leroy spent the night in the same tent with Pat to make sure she was safe and comfortable.
One of the reasons Bennett and Leroy were able to pick up Pat’s trail so quickly is because she had a small dog that had somehow escaped its leash. Unfortunately, the dog was never found.
The rescue team also relied on Leroy to pick up the trail through flat open areas and after river crossings.
At about the 12 km mark, Leroy began following Pat’s tracks up a mountain in deep snow through thick trees.
On one of Bennett’s passes of that area, Leroy was intent on pulling him in one direction. Then about 20 km into the epic search, rescuers heard calls for help.
It was Pat.
Bob and his family were beyond relieved to hear news that she had been found alive and well.
“We were just lucky that the warden service responded the way they did and had a dog,” he said.
Parks Canada’s search-and-rescue dog program has been in place for 55 years, starting with Alfie Burstrom as the first dog handler in the country based out of Jasper from 1971-81; Earl Skjonsberg was the first handler based out of Banff from 1973-81.
Bennett, who started with Leroy in 2019, was the last. Following Leroy’s retirement in August, Bennett had just completed weeks of intensive, costly training to have a new search-and-rescue dog validated and ready for duty when news came that Parks Canada was scrapping the program.
Throughout the years, these dog teams have found countless lost hikers, located avalanche victims and recovered bodies, bringing closure to grieving families. Helping with law enforcement investigations, they’ve also tracked poachers and sniffed out millions of dollars in drugs.
Stevenson has officially requested Parks Canada to disclose the annual cost of the dog program for each fiscal year since 2019-20, broken down by personnel, acquisition and training of dogs and operations. He also requested how many times the dog team was deployed in each of those years.
The Conservative MP also wants to know what the projected annual savings are from ending the search-and-rescue dog program and whether or not Parks Canada did a risk or visitor safety assessment before making the decision.
The Rocky Mountain Outlook also requested similar information.
Parks Canada officials say they are modernizing the agency’s law enforcement model – and the dog program is part of that branch.
“As part of these changes, Parks Canada has made the difficult decision to discontinue its dog handler program,” said Meaghan Bradley, a spokesperson in Parks Canada’s national office, in an email.
“Banff National Park had the agency’s only dog handler position in the country. Park wardens are trained and equipped to enforce the Canada National Parks Act without the use of dogs.”
Bradley said Canadians and visitors can be assured that visitor safety and search and rescue continue to be priorities for the federal agency and these programs remain in place.
“While the dog handler program was one supplemental element of Parks Canada’s broader response capacity, search and rescue operations will continue to be delivered through a range of trained personnel, operational resources, established procedures and partnerships,” she said.
“We will continue to work with external organizations, law enforcement partners and specialized search and rescue providers, as appropriate, to ensure an effective response when needed.”Pffffft! Useless, compared.