Auckland Senior Constable Bill Birrell with patrol dog Hawk and Tauranga Senior Constable Derek Orchard with Turk took out overall honours at the Australasian Police Dog Championship Trials which have concluded in Sydney. The duo won The Perpetual Trophy for Patrol/General Purpose Dogs teams at the championship event.
Senior Constable Birrell and Hawk also took out the highest individual score in the Patrol/General Purpose Dog category with Derek and Turk in second place.
The individual winner in the detection dog category was Constable Boland with Odin from the Australian Federal Police. Wellington based Senior Constable Hamish Todd and Cindy were 4th in the detector dog category.
Over the three-day competition, teams were tested in categories such as agility and speed, building and vehicle searches, obedience, odour recognition (drug, firearm and explosive detection); and general operational policing.
New Zealand Police team manager Sergeant Steve Rider, who is based at the Dog Training Centre in Trentham, said it was fantastic the team was able to continue the Kiwi dominance in the patrol dog category.
“The win notches up six victories for our teams,” Mr Rider said.
"It was somewhat a reversal of fortunes at this competition for Bill and Derek. At this years New Zealand Police Dog Championships it was Derek and Turk taking top honours with Bill and Hawk runners up."
The competition was held at the Campbelltown Sports Stadium in Sydney and involved 16 police dog teams from across Australia and New Zealand.
The Australasian Police Dog Championship Trials began in 1988 and were originally conducted alongside the Australasian Police Games. They operated separately from 1999 with the formation of the Australasian Police Dog Strategy and Development Group (APDSDG). The rationale for that was to strengthen the collaboration and work of the group relating to the development of strategy, training and breeding in Australasia.
New Zealand has won the individual and team championship in six of the seven championships held since 1988.
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For more information contact Kevin Sinnott 027 705 0341