Winnipeg police have stored the genetic material of their star police dog, who died last month, in the hopes of breeding more like him down the road.

The 11-year-old Belgian Malinois named Judge died of kidney failure nine months after retiring.

The police force says Judge was the top tracker in their history with more than 500 arrests under his collar during his 10 years of service.

Judge already has a lot of offspring making their mark — 23 of his puppies and nine grand-puppies are working as police dogs across North America.

Canine unit Sgt. Dave Bessason says it’s hoped his genetic material will be used to produce pups for the next decade.

Bessason says training is the foundation of a good service dog, but genetics plays a really important part.

“That drive — that tracking drive, you can see it in the dogs,” agrees canine unit Const. Shawn Lowry. “I can see it in them, I know that it’s there, and it’s really nice to see it’s continuing on.”

Officers from the unit gathered Wednesday night for a memorial for Judge, who worked with Sgt. Scott Taylor.

“We’re a tight group of people and our patriarch was put down,” said Bessason. “It was really, really tough.”

He said Judge and Taylor, who took the dog home to his family after he left the service, were an amazing team.

“He’d work a track two and a half, three hours old; they just hated to lose,” said Bessason. “They’re a team I don’t think we’ll ever replace.”

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