Police dogs valued like their human handlers







Happy reunion: Police dog Thames reunited with his handler Constable Mike Wakefield of Wairarapa Police. Photo - stuff.co.nz

The heartening story of Thames the New Zealand police dog being found after having been lost in the Tararua Ranges has been a great story of survival this week:

http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/missing-police-dog-found-safe-and-well-2015051014#axzz3aAGrmCgc

I worked for the police as an unsworn support staff member back in the 1970s and early 1980s and I know how these animals are held in such high esteem by all police members.

I used to cringe when a handler would bring his dog past my desk and they would always say, 'don't be scared, he/she won't hurt you'. But when you see them in action and in full flight grabbing hold of absconding criminals on television reality police patrol documentaries and grabbing an acting crim (usually another police member) at demonstration events, you can't help feeling a bit vulnerable around them.

However, their training seems to teach them when to be scary and when not to be!

They are classed as equal to their uniformed human counterparts and their valuable contribution to fighting crime and keeping communities safe can't be underestimated.

Although they have a special purpose, as police officers, they also live with families of their handlers and despite having to sometimes become scary in order to catch criminals, they are extremely gentle with small children and other people close to handlers.

You could see how distraught Thames' handler was at the thought of his four-legged police partner being lost in the bush.

It was evident also, how relieved not only the handler was but also his work colleagues and the wider community when Thames was found.

Here is a bit of the history, in the link below, of the police dog section in New Zealand and a memorial of those injured and killed in the line of duty since the early 1970s:

http://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/structure/teams-units/dog-section/history

Here is some general information, in the link below, about the police dog section of the New Zealand Police and what the dog's main role is:

Patrol dogs are mainly used to track and search for people.  Many of them are also trained for:

• search and rescue work
• victim recovery 
• deployment with the Armed Offender Squad 
• narcotic detection work 

http://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/structure/teams-units/dog-section

Any dogs that are not suitable for service go to good homes.

Have you given a former police dog a home, or are you a dog handler?

Beating the Odds would love to talk to you about your dogs, and handlers, we would love to talk to you about the valuable work you do with your canine police partners.

Let us know in the comments box.

BTO.