New Police Dogs

[Pattycake]

I'm not sure how to post the link but this story is on the NSW Police Force Facebook Page.

There are loads more pictures via their FB page.

So happy they are now using Springer's they're great little dogs...............I have one, Bella is 3 :)

The NSW Police Force’s Dog Unit have announced the names of their seven new canine recruits, as chosen by their Facebook friends.

The Dog Unit welcomed seven new English Springer Spaniel puppies on Thursday 28 June 2012 and began the ‘Puppy Poll’ on their Facebook page on Monday 16 July 2012 to choose names for the puppies.

More than 10,600 votes were tallied, and the three female and four male puppies were officially named during a special celebration at the Dog Unit at Menai today (Wednesday 22 August 2012).

Keeping with Dog Unit tradition, the dog’s names all start with the letter ‘A’, as they are the first litter of their breed born into the unit’s breeding program and known as the ‘A’ litter.

The male puppies will now be known as Alpha, Arrow, Aero and Alfie and the female puppies will be known as Ava, Autumn and Annie.

NSW Police Dog Unit Commander, Superintendent Mick Goodwin, said the response by Facebook friends was overwhelming.

“Facebook has proven to be a great way for us to engage with the community and the response to our puppy poll is incredible,” Superintendent Goodwin said.

“It is great to be able to allow members of the public to see what we do and get involved in the process. It’s also a way for us to thank everyone who supports the work we do.”

It is anticipated the puppies will be trained in drug, explosive or cadaver detection, and follow in the footsteps of their parents. Mother ‘Bronte,’ is a cadaver detection dog and father ‘Micky’, is an explosive detection dog.

“We will keep the puppies here at the Dog Unit with their mum for another four to five weeks,” Superintendent Goodwin said.

“They will then be fostered out to specialised puppy raisers until they are old enough to begin the detection training program.

“Successful recruits will either be sworn into the NSW Police Force Dog Unit or will go to work for another police force or law enforcement agency.”

The NSW Police Force Dog Unit was formed in 1932, but disbanded in 1954 before commencing modern day operations in 1979.

It is the largest police dog unit in Australia and its canine police officers include German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Labradors and English Springer Spaniels.

The Dog Unit’s breeding program has been running since 2006, and has bred 16 litters of German Shepherd pups, one litter of Labrador pups and now one litter of English Springer Spaniels.

Love the picture of them in the Chopper.