Back in 2015, Tammy Murray‎ proudly shared a picture of her “granddog,” “Tyr” (aka Hugo von der Leidenschaft) with his handler, Chad Malanowich, because Tyr was the very first Giant Schnauzer police dog in Canada serving proudly with the Saskatoon Police Service in Saskatchewan.

Malanowich’s interest in using the Giant Schnauzer as a patrol dog began at a Canadian Police Canine Association trainers’ conference in 2006 when he heard a guest speaker say that the price of German Shepherd Dogs had skyrocketed after 9/11. Tyr was gotten as a puppy, and with the support of the police force, started the canine training program from which he graduated in  2012.

Now in 2018, Tyr is still on the job, and you can “meet” him and his handler in the video below:

Giant Schnauzers are not new to law enforcement, however. The breed became popular as a military dog during World War I and World War II, and have since been used for odor detection of narcotics and explosives, and for tracking of humans and suspect apprehension in police work.