DOG SCHOOL A WALK IN THE PARK FOR FORMER COPS
IF a dog can be taught to sniff out bombs, track down bad guys, detect drugs and traces of allergens, rest assured they can learn how to behave.
Former UK police officer Emma McKenzie runs Gold Coast Dog Trainer, an obedience school and dog walking business that opened in 2015.
She has since employed Sharron Eaves and Paul Templeman, who are experienced in training some of the most elite police dogs in the UK and New Zealand.
Ms McKenzie moved to the dog squad in the British Police after losing a friend in the 2005 London Bombings.
She started working with general purpose german shepherds on the front line, moving on to explosive detection with her spaniel Cassie.
“It’s pretty scary when you’re the one walking in to an airport where there’s usually thousands of people, and everyone else has been evacuated,” she said.
“You never know if it’s going to be an IUD (improvised unexploded device) or just a bomb threat.
“I used to escort the Queen, as part of VIP movements. During (former Prime Minister) David Cameron’s political campaign, I had my police dog Cassie, she went to the toilet in the train. We had to move carriages,” she laughs.
“One of my highlights of my career was actually training Daisy to detect peanuts in a room. She’s now a qualified service dog.”
Ms Eaves worked as a police officer with drug and bomb detection dogs in New Zealand, assisting the Secret Service during APEC. “Something I’ll never forget is working with the American president,” she said.
Mr Templeman is the newest addition to the Gold Coast Dog Trainer team, also a former UK police officer.
He said he remembers keeping peace at football riots, demonstrating drug detection to Columbian soldiers fighting cartels, and instances where his dog took down an attacker that would have killed him.
“I had at least three occasions where my last dog saved my life, in knife attacks,” he said.
Ms McKenzie said she only takes on ex-police dog handlers because she knows their level of training and experience will be world class.