Two new police dogs to join handlers in Dunedin

TWO new police dogs will be padding their way south after graduating from the national training centre.

They are joined by their Dunedinbased handlers, Constable Marcus Saunders and Constable Regan Wilson, plus six freshly minted police officers bound for the Southern District who graduated from police college on Wednesday.

Const Saunders, who joined the police in 2015 and transferred north from Invercargill to take up a dog handler position last year, has had policebred German shepherd Vann for 10 months.

The instruction at the New Zealand Police Dog Training Centre in Trentham had been invaluable, he said.

‘‘There’s a lot to learn including how to read your dog, understand what that flick of the tail or head means, and the skills and techniques for both of us to do the job.’’

Const Wilson, graduating with canine partner South (23 months), agrees.

‘‘Joining dog section is my dream job.

‘‘The scenariobased training we’ve had has been great for a firsttime handler.’’

The two Dunedin officers trained together, and Vann was fostered by Const Wilson before the dog was paired up with Const Saunders.

Sixty new police officers graduated from the Royal New Zealand Police College on Wednesday.

Among them were six new recruits bound for the Southern District: two each to Queenstown and Dunedin, one to Invercargill and one to Gore.