PERSONNEL RECORD:
Diefenbaker
Occupation: Companion to RCMP Constable Benton Fraser
Nationality: Canadian (wolf hybrid)
Status: Alive
Actor: Lincoln (S1&2) Draco (S3&4) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Biography
Diefenbaker is a wolf hybrid from coastal British Columbia who became the lifelong companion of Constable Benton Fraser. Intelligent, loyal, and highly perceptive, he plays a vital role in Fraser’s life and work. Though partially deaf, he communicates through instinct, observation, and learned behaviors, including lip-reading in both English and Inuktitut. His bond with Fraser is defined by trust, shared survival, and mutual respect.
Youth
Diefenbaker began life as a wild wolf, independent and guided by instinct. According to Fraser’s accounts, their first meeting occurred when Fraser fell into an abandoned mine. Diefenbaker followed him in, and the two relied on one another to survive. This dangerous encounter formed the foundation of their bond, and Fraser took responsibility for the wolf, bringing him out of the wild and beginning their lifelong partnership.
Separately, Fraser explains that Diefenbaker became partially deaf after jumping into icy water to save him during a later incident on a drifting ice floe in Prince Rupert. The cold caused his eardrums to burst, resulting in the hearing loss that accompanies him for the rest of his life. These two events together—mine encounter for their meeting, ice rescue for deafness—establish the key moments of Diefenbaker’s early life.
Professional Life
Diefenbaker does not have an official position with the RCMP, nor does he wear a collar or carry formal registration as a police dog. Nevertheless, he accompanies Fraser across Canada and into Chicago, where he is readily put to good use by the Force when situations demand. He demonstrates acute awareness in field situations, assisting Fraser in both protective and investigative roles, often contributing decisively through tracking, alerting, or direct intervention.
Investigation Methods
Diefenbaker relies on heightened senses other than hearing, particularly sight, smell, and instinct. He is adept at reading human cues, including lip-reading in English and Inuktitut, which allows him to understand instructions and context. He can track suspects, locate missing persons, and detect danger, acting with precision and deliberation to support Fraser’s work.
Personal Life
Diefenbaker is fiercely loyal to Fraser, though they occasionally give each other the cold shoulder. In Chicago, he has adapted to city life, developing a taste for fast food and even maintaining his own checking account, carefully left undisturbed by Fraser. He has fathered pups with a husky named Maggie and has played a role in rescuing other animals during encounters with animal control. Diefenbaker is generally well-liked, particularly by women, and shows notable fascination with blond women such as Doctor Esther Pearson, Luanne Russell, and Fraser’s half-sister Margaret MacKenzie.
Final Status
At the end of Fraser’s final recorded assignment, Diefenbaker remains his constant companion. Their bond continues unbroken, with Diefenbaker accompanying Fraser on all journeys and maintaining his characteristic loyalty, intelligence, and adaptability.
Background Information
Due South - Diefenbaker's Perspective
Diefenbaker was portrayed by six similar-looking Canadian Husky dogs, Lincoln, Frankie (Pilot only), Chinook, Kerry-Ann, Draco and Cinder (Draco's sister who performed most of her brother's stunts). Lincoln (Seasons 1 and 2) and Draco (Seasons 3 and 4) were the most commonly seen on screen.
Actor Paul Gross believes that Diefenbaker is what made this television series successful, and his own character so attractive to women.
Appearances
Appears in all episodes except Chicago Holiday, Part 2.
