The General brings pawsitive mental health progress at the RCMP

Where it all began

The General arrived in 2024 as part of an 18-month pilot project to support employee wellness under the National Reintegration Program. Paired with his handler, Corporal Meredith Darrah, he quickly became part of life at NHQ, checking in on teams, providing quiet comfort after challenging events, and helping people reconnect with their workplace after difficult days.

One moment stands out for Darrah. After a tragedy in a division, they flew home with three grieving members. The General settled between them on the plane and, without thinking, all three reached out and rested a hand on him.

“He just knew,” Darrah says. “He knows when people are having a hard time and wants to be comforting.”

That intuition would guide them to their most impressive achievement so far.

A journey south

In 2025, Darrah and The General travelled to El Paso, Texas, and became the first RCMP officer, and the first Canadian, ever invited to complete the Support K9 Instructor course, run by the United States Border Patrol's K9 Academy. The course is an intensive five-week program designed to train experienced handlers to become instructors, followed by a four-week handler course. With the certification, Darrah can now train others to help build long-term program capacity at the RCMP.

The invitation followed months of informal exchanges with United States counterparts who had taken note of The General's work in Canada. With the support and approval of Senior Deputy Commissioner Bryan Larkin, Darrah was invited not simply to observe, but to complete the instructor training itself.

The course focused on three pillars of support K9 work — obedience, exposure, and interaction — and involved training in real-world environments such as border patrol stations, hospitals, retirement homes, malls and community spaces. The goal was to ensure support dogs could remain calm, confident, and responsive wherever people might need comfort or connection.

Among hundreds of detection dogs and four support K9 teams, The General stood out not only for his distinctive grooming but also as the only poodle in a group otherwise made up of traditional police breeds such as German shepherds and Labradors. As a facility dog focused on connection rather than enforcement, The General challenged assumptions about what a police dog looks like, while consistently performing alongside his peers.

According to Larkin, the decision to support the United States-based training was straightforward.

“When I saw the work Meredith and The General were already doing — the smiles, the positive impact — it made complete sense,” says Larkin. “I also saw this as the start of something much bigger for the RCMP.”

Larkin later attended the graduation ceremony, a moment he described as a point of pride for the RCMP, and for Canada. Darrah was recognized as the top-performing instructor in her class, while The General earned the top-dog award.

The training reinforced an already strong partnership between the RCMP and United States Border Patrol, expanding it into the world of support-K9 training. For the RCMP, the training provides instructor-level expertise in support K9 work and helps reduce reliance on external instruction. Darrah hopes future handler-dog teams could complete foundational training in Canada before travelling to El Paso, gradually expanding that capability at home.

Building bigger

El Paso didn't just sharpen Darrah's skills, it helped establish the foundation for a future Canada-wide program. A graduate-level internal RCMP evaluation found that 98% of employees reported a positive impact after interacting with The General, one that continued long after the interaction ended.

According to both Darrah and Larkin, a facility dog is relatively affordable compared to many workplace wellness tools. Annual costs are largely limited to food, basic equipment and routine veterinary care, typically amounting to only a few thousand dollars a year, particularly after the initial start-up phase. When weighed against the number of employees supported and the duration of that impact, both describe the benefit-cost ratio as high.

For Larkin, it couldn't be clearer. “This is low risk, high return,” he says. “A support K9 can change the trajectory of someone's day.”

His support of the pair spoke volumes. “I think Meredith is breaking barriers around what we're doing in Canada and within the RCMP, and that's full credit to her,” says Larkin. “She's just a wonderful ambassador.”

Some of The General's costs are also offset through donations from Canine Therapy For First Responders, and support from the RCMP Foundation. When people buy General-themed merchandise, the proceeds go directly back into supporting his work.

The human side

Walk through NHQ with Meredith and The General and you'll see it instantly: people brighten, someone kneels down instinctively, someone else shares a story about their pet. For a moment, the atmosphere feels lighter.

“If we can just provide a little bit of incentive for somebody to come to the office on a hard day, I think that's positive,” Darrah says. “We lost our ability to connect with each other during COVID, and we haven't gotten it back a hundred per cent. This helps people get it back.”

Larkin has watched the impact firsthand.

“People talk to the dog. They're willing to share with him. And Meredith has this unique skill of stepping in at the right moment to ask how someone's really doing,” he says.

The General has offered comfort after tragic incidents, calmed high-stress environments, and helped people reconnect with their workplace when they weren't sure they could.

“This program opens the door for people to find support,” Larkin adds. “And it brings happiness into the workplace.”

A coast-to-coast vision

Both Darrah and Larkin see the Support K9 Instructor course in El Paso as the beginning of something much bigger: sustained cross-border training, a national RCMP support-K9 program, and eventually, Canadian-led instructor training.

“I envision a world where any RCMP employee, anywhere in the country, can kneel down and talk to a support K9 when they need it most,” says Larkin.

For Darrah, the goal remains simple:

“We just want to provide light in the darkness.”

Darrah's work with The General is generating interest across the RCMP. Eastern Region has already identified a potential dog and is actively looking for a handler. Darrah says she hopes that within five years, every division and region that wants a facility dog will have a clear path to getting one.

The General has become part of the RCMP family. With every wag of his tail, whether in an airport, a hallway, or a quiet office where someone needs a moment, he reminds us of the power of kindness, connection, and collaboration.

His next chapter is only beginning. And for the RCMP, that next chapter holds the promise of even greater connection and care.