I Finally Met A Mountie: He Had A 10-Pound Dog In One Hand, And A Big Shotgun In The Other
Posted: Thursday, August 07, 2008
by Marty RicKard
It was 1948. I was ten. Every day after school, I curled on the couch next to our radio and waited for the gunshot and the big dog to bark. Finally, it came, the shot and ricochet, the bark, and then that powerful voice: "On, King! On, you huskies!" It was Sergeant Preston of the Mounted Police and his dog, Yukon King, fighting crime in the far reaches of the North West Territories . I fell in love with the Mounties during that era, and one of the secrets wishes of my lifetime was to meet a Mountie. It never happened. I thought it never would.
I'm in Florida at a retirement community and decide to play golf. The starter puts me with this young, attractive couple. We shake hands and tee off. We're on maybe the third green when I say, "you're too young to be retired."
"I am retired," he said.
"What did you do?"
"I was with the Northwest Mounted Police for 30 years. I was a Mountie."
My jaw dropped. I had finally got my wish. I had finally met a Mountie. His name is Don Pipher. He and his wife Sue have owned a place in Florida for four years. She is a nurse in Canada for six-plus months, and a golfer and tennis player for four-plus months. They live with Brandy, a ten-pound silky terrier with an attitude. Why do I mention the little silky terrier? Well, Sergeant Preston has nothing on Don Pipher. Pipher took his dog with him on a case once. What does it matter that King weighed 150 pounds, and Brandy only ten.
"It was one of my most embarrassing moments as a Mountie," Pipher said. It was Pipher's day off, and he stopped at his office to visit a friend, Paul. Brandy just happened to be along. A call came in about a driver brandishing a gun. Pipher accompanied Paul, the on-duty officer. They stopped the guy with the gun. Paul walked toward the car. "The man in the car acted strangely," Pipher said, "so I decided to give Paul back up, but I didn't know what to do with Brandy. It was a busy highway and I feared she would get out and get hit by a car." He put Brandy under his arm, grabbed a short-barreled shotgun and approached the stopped car in a crouched defensive posture. "Here I was, cars flying by, me in civilian clothes, a small, yapping dog in one arm and a big shotgun in the other." The incident was resolved peacefully, but it ranks as one of his most embarrassing moments, Pipher said.
Two years ago four Mounties were killed on a drug call only one hour away from where Pipher worked. "I was never shot at," but I had some close calls. He recalled one time when a tire shop was burglarized. "We went in with flashlights and guns drawn. There were huge piles of tires everywhere." They thought the burglar was hiding in one of the stacks. "We stuck the flashlight down the center hole, then the gun barrel and then we looked in." They searched a while, but never found the criminal. He was later arrested, and weeks later Don was given the job of transporting him. "I told him I was the officer on duty the night of the crime," Don said. He told me I had been close to finding him that night and if I would have looked into his hiding place he would have killed me. "That was scary," Pipher said.
If you were to order a Mountie from a catalog, you would order Don Pipher. He is tall, ram-rod straight, no fat, locks his gray-green-brown eyes directly onto yours when he talks, is confident and intelligent and has strong features. He went into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police when he was 20, and served most of his time in the Banff , Alberta , area. "We bought a place here in Florida in 2004, and we just love it," Pipher said. Pipher contrasted the difference in the structure of law enforcement in the United States and in rural Canada . "In most areas of Canada , the Mountie acts as the FBI, state police, highway patrol, sheriff and city police rolled into one department. This works great up there for cohesion, but we have one-tenth the population that you do," he said. "In some of the areas up there we know almost everyone."
He related a story about a fight he had with a drunk on a dark road at night. Pipher subdued the man and took him into the office under the bright lights. This guy looked at Pipher and said, "Oh, Don, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was fighting you out there in the dark. If I had known it was you, I would never have hit you." "We knew each other well," Pipher said, "and he meant what he said." Though retired, Pipher still dons his Red Serge dress uniform 35 to 40 times a year to perform Public Relations service for the RCMP. He appears at some high-powered society functions and also dresses in the Red Serge uniform to meet and mingle with tour groups. He shares the history of the Mounties and poses with travelers for photographs.
Last year Pipher and several other Mounties donned the Red Serge to attend a social function which included Robert Kennedy, jr, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson, Dr. Ruth, Farah Fawcett, Dan Akroyd, Jason Priestly, Lyle Lovett and others. "Normally people want photos with the stars, but in this case, the stars stood in line to get photos with the Mounties," Pipher said. "That's kind of neat." Pipher loves the Mounties and is proud of his service. He said he has never met a person from any country who did not know about the Mounties.
He mentioned two true stories upon which the Mountie legend is based. The first was when RCMP Major James M. Walsh and five other Mounties rode into Sitting Bull's camp on the Canadian border after the massacre of Custer's troops at the Little Big Horn. Walsh rode through more than 1000 Indians, confronted Sitting Bull, won him over with his exhibition of courage and extracted from the Chief a promise that all Canadian laws would be obeyed. Walsh and Sitting Bull remained friends for years thereafter. The other story is referred to as The Mad Trapper of Rat River, wherein the Mounties chased Trapper Albert Johnson doggedly for months through blizzards, across icy rivers, over mountain terrain until they finally nabbed Johnson for killing a Mountie. This occurred in 1931, and since then the Mounties have been known as the law enforcement body which always gets their man.
Although they are called Mounties, Pipher said most modern-day Mounties have never been on a horse as part of their service. He included himself. The only time I was on a horse was when I arranged to have my retirement photo taken in my Red Serge dress uniform. "I love the Mounties and the camaraderie," Pipher said. "I could walk into any office in Canada today and be treated like a brother."
Marty RicKard Bio
Marty RicKard attended William Penn College , Iowa State University and University of Southern Mississippi , from which he holds a BS degree in journalism and photojournalism. He also has a Masters Degree in photography, in addition to the Craftsman, CPP, and A-ASP degrees. Marty spent two years as a technical writer for White Motor Company, and has worked for the Charles City Press, Mason City Globe-Gazette, and Davenport Times-Democrat. He was co-owner of the weekly New Sharon Star, where he was twice named Iowa Master Columnist for his article, which was syndicated in twenty Iowa newspapers. For more than a decade Marty's regular column appeared in the Professional Photographer magazine. He has been published in many other magazines and newspapers, including Writer's Digest, Writer Advice, Golf Digest, Resource Magazine, Picture, Range Finder, and Darkroom. In addition to his writing credits, Marty has won numerous photography awards, has lectured in 48 states, and has traveled internationally as lecturer, and judge. He was one of thirty from the U.S. to participate in the first cultural exchange with China in 1986. He currently is a regular columnist for Lens Magazine, and a full-time writer of fiction and poetry. He is the author of two poetry books and one volume of short stories. He is an entertaining speaker.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)hi marty,this was a well written, interesting story, and i'm so glad you got to meet your Mountie. how cool was that? i enjoyed your story. thank you,best regards,sueDear Sue: Thanks for your comments. I love your new photo. Best, Marty RicKard
Great article, Marty. You should recommend to Mr. Pipher that he write a book. This reminded me of a book I just reviewed "Alaska Justice" by Mike Kincaid. He was a retired Alaskan State Trooper--told some remarkable stories. All his 'car' chases were done by plane, though.P.S. I fixed the paragraphs in my last article---don't know why they weren't there.SandraDear Sandra: Thanks. You are the best. I rescored your article. Best, Marty RicKard
Hi Marty,That was one of my favorite shows! As for the dog, I would put my seven pound Yorkie up against any big dog for courage. An attacker might not be brought down by Mr. Wiggles, but he would leave the area with very sore ankles!I enjoyed your article.PatriciaDear Patricia: You are so right. I had a little poodle. Couldn't have weighed five pounds. Her name was Corky, but we called her Jaws. I still have the scars. Funny thing, we loved her anyway. Best, Marty
Good article Marty, It just goes to show that dreams do come true. I'm glad yours did. Thank you for the interesting story. God blessDear Michelle: And on a golf course, Proves that what you say is correct. Thanks for your comments. Best, Marty RicKard
You are right- the red serge uniform of the RCMP is known around the world. I am a teacher in Australia and I printed a photo off the internet of a mountie and a team of huskies pulling a sled in a snowbound Canada winter. I asked a few of my grade 5 students ( who were recent arrivals from Sri Lanka) to write an essay by using the photo as a prompt. I asked them who the gentleman in the red tunic was. The reply was instant. "Santa Claus". See, the red uniform is recognised worldwide.PS I did not ask them to name the huskies. I just know what their answer would have been: "Rudolph, Dancer, Prancer etc."
I was Don's Sgt. at Redwater in Alberta. Have not heard of/from him since I retired 12 years ago.
He was a pleasure to work with and a credit to the Mounted Police. Glad to hear he is still enjoying life.
Joh. D BRECKNOCK
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