Rotorua's 'furry future crimefighters' get trained up

IN TRAINING: Acting Sergeant Warren Sangster with his new police puppy Abel. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

It's a bit like "having a baby" again but these babies are furry and future crimefighters.

The Rotorua Taupo police dog section has two puppies it is bringing up alongside current dogs. Yesterday the pair - Xion and Abel - met for the first time.

Rotorua-based Senior Constable David Hill has Xion, 16-weeks-old as well as his dog Kevlar. Taupo-based Acting Sergeant Warren Sangster is bringing up 10-week-old Abel, ready for when Hera reaches retirement age.

"We've already started doing some very basic stuff with them," Mr Sangster said.

"We do scent work and a whole lot of socialising to get them out and about, but we have to be very careful. Xion has had her shots but Abel is still only 10 weeks.

"We've both got older dogs coming up for retirement age so the plan for these dogs, if they work out, is they'll be ready to swap over when they're ready."

IN TRAINING: Acting Sergeant Warren Sangster with his new police puppy Abel. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

He said it could take about 18 months before dogs were operational, so was a big commitment. When the pair met yesterday the puppies were excited to be in each other's company, checking each other out and having a play.

"It's like having a baby," said Mr Hill.

"I got Kevlar (current dog) when he was seven months so he'd already done basic training.

It's hard work and you forget what you went through. We just can't expect too much because they can't do what operational dogs can do. They test your patience."

Mr Sangster said even though the dogs came from a police breeding programme there was no guarantee they would make it to be operational.

"It's a massive investment of time to go in before you know they're going to make it but it has to be done."

He said starting so early meant that if either of the dogs didn't make the grade there would be time to train another before their current dogs retired around age eight.