Wellington's Constable Ben O'Connor and Utah are this year's national police dog team champions.
It was their overall consistency across a range of scenarios and exercises at this week's national police dog trials at Trentham that took them to the top - heading off ten other general purpose dog teams for the Frank Riley Cup.
The win is a double celebration for the Wellington Police Dog Section as it's the first time a local handler has won the national championship since the trials began in 1967.
Senior Sergeant Mark Davidson, head of the Wellington dog section, is delighted with the result.
"A lot of hard work goes in by handlers and their sergeants to get selected for the trials," he says. "The handlers are competing against the best of the best from around the country so winning the trophy is a fantastic achievement."
It was the first time Constable O'Connor and four-year-old Utah have taken part in the trials. The two have been working together as a very successful operational team for the last two years.
"Winning the championship was a great surprise. I'm still getting used to the idea," Constable O'Connor says. "I knew we were doing alright across the individual scenarios but I didn't expect to win. It was just down to our overall consistency."
Constable O'Connor and Utah finished the competition with 813 points, with Constables Blair Benson and Kane from Gisborne in second place and Dave Robison and Bazz from Whakatane in third place.
Wellington's Constable Jason Todd and his bitch Ila also competed in the general section while another Wellingtonian, Constable Alan Campbell and Gus were third in the narcotics detection category.
Senior Sergeant John Edmonds, from the national police dog training centre at Trentham, says the last few days have been demanding ones for all the handlers as they were put through some realistic but demanding scenarios.
The teams were marked on obedience, article retrieving, commands, tracking in grass, bush and operational scenes, and criminal work.
"Handlers treat the national trials with a lot of respect," he says. "You have to earn the right to compete so there is real kudos in winning the overall championship."
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