Warning: Some readers may find the details of this story graphic.
TORONTO -- On a cold January night, a police dog and his partner made a discovery that would expose one of Canada鈥檚 most notorious serial killers.
Sgt. Derrick Gaudet and his canine partner, Major, were outside a home where Bruce McArthur stored his landscaping equipment. It wasn鈥檛 the garage or the yard that caught Major鈥檚 attention, it was a planter.
鈥淓ventually he got his nose into one. And I went over, and I kicked it with my foot very, very hard. And then he looks back at me and goes still,鈥� Gaudet told W5鈥檚 Molly Thomas.
Standing still was Major鈥檚 way of telling Gaudet he鈥檇 found human remains.
Investigators would go on to learn that McArthur had been burying his dismembered victims in planters. Major鈥檚 gruesome discovery helped convict the serial killer for the murders of eight men in 2019.
Three years earlier, Major made another grisly find and helped solve another homicide.
In 2016, Melissa Cooper was murdered and her dismembered body was dumped in garbage cans behind a Toronto butcher shop. Major was brought in and helped locate Cooper鈥檚 arm.
Major鈥檚 specialty is finding cadavers. Which means that many of his investigations are macabre. But it鈥檚 all in a day鈥檚 work when you鈥檙e a cadaver dog.
鈥淚've been a police officer for 31 years and I've seen lots of horrific things,鈥� Gaudet said, but he takes comfort in knowing what Major鈥檚 discoveries mean for families.
鈥淲e're doing a good thing here, right. We're actually bringing loved ones back to their families so they can have peace.鈥�
A DOG OF MANY SKILLS
鈥淚 think he has an excellent nose, far better than any of our instruments. And so that鈥檚 just something we can鈥檛 comprehend at this stage,鈥� says Shari Forbes, the director of Canada鈥檚 first body farm, a facility that studies decaying human remains.
Forbes says Major鈥檚 excellent nose is far superior to humans.
鈥淚f I can smell a drop of blood in an Olympic-size swimming pool, they can smell it in six Olympic pools.鈥�
That鈥檚 one drop in 15-million litres of water. Just to put that in perspective, that鈥檚 about 50,000 bathtubs worth of water.
However, detecting the odour of human remains isn鈥檛 Major鈥檚 only skill.
He鈥檚 one of the few cadaver dogs with Toronto police that鈥檚 cross trained, meaning he can also track fresh human scent. It鈥檚 a talent that came in handy when he found an Alzheimer鈥檚 patient who wondered off in the dead of night near a highway.
On Jan. 2, Major will turn eight. With such a stellar police record, you鈥檇 think his birthday would be cause for celebration. However, it鈥檚 bitter sweet. Most police dogs retire at nine, whether they like it or not.
Jason Donohoe runs one of the largest mobile veterinary clinics in the province and cares for over 150 police dogs. He鈥檚 seen firsthand the toll police work can have on his four-legged patients.
鈥淪o they are more prone to injuries. They're more prone to joint problems because they are larger active breeds.鈥�
Donohoe has Major on supplements to help with his joints, but retirement is looming and he鈥檚 worried because most police dogs don鈥檛 retire well.
鈥淭he drive that these dogs have, and the energy level is not always suitable to being a pet,鈥� Donohoe told W5. 鈥淚 think in most cases, they're, you know, they're disappointed when their person gets up and starts the truck and drives away without them.鈥�
But Gaudet has no plans to drive off without Major. He can retire anytime, but says he鈥檒l keep working as long as his partner wants to stay on duty.
鈥淲e'll go out together. That鈥檚 how I plan it anyways, so we鈥檒l see how it goes.鈥�
