When police dog Teo retired from patrol work earlier this year, her handler was looking forward to her enjoying some well-deserved downtime while keeping a paw in the game with search and rescue.
That all changed in September when Teo was seriously injured falling into scalding geothermal water as soft ground gave way during a search in Rotorua.
She suffered severe burns, primarily to her hindquarters, and it was touch-and-go whether she’d make it.
For three long weeks, with handler Constable Adam Johannsen by her side, she received critical care from a highly skilled and dedicated team of vets and nurses at Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
Three months later, Adam says Teo’s road to recovery has been 'up and down' but she’s doing great.
“She’s missing fur from being shaved through her treatment, so she looks scruffy as hell, but she’s very much in the realm of being fully recovered and back to her normal self,” he says.
“She’s enjoying her walks and swimming and enjoying the retirement she was promised.”
Teo was officially fully retired on the day of her accident, marking the end of a successful seven-year operational career.
“It was important to us she didn’t go back to work but, in all honesty, I think she would have been quite happy to,” says Adam. “Every day she’s trying to jump in the back of the van to come to work with me.”
There have been many milestones along the way during Teo's recovery, including the first time she was able to eat a full meal again; when she was well enough to be discharged from Massey University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital; and being able to enjoy coastal walks at home again with Adam.
Teo has been with Adam since she was just six months old, and their bond is unmistakable. They graduated as an operational team in October 2018 and have gone from strength to strength.
On her first shift, Teo tracked an offender around 800 metres through a complicated landscape of properties to locate them.
In her first year, she won the award for best new operational dog, and last year the pair were awarded Auckland City District’s Murray Morrisey Award for operational excellence.
The secret to her success?
“I think it is her tracking capability,” says Adam. "She’s got a big heart and probably hasn’t been the hardest dog in terms of her apprehensions, but with her tracking she just gives that extra 10 per cent.”
One example that sticks in Adam’s mind followed a family harm incident in Onehunga.
“The offender had left and we had about a 10-minute time delay,” says Adam. “We tracked consistently for 3.5km and located him hiding on a building site in a portable loo.
“She’s had a few good catches like that. I believe it's a result of her search-and-rescue work giving her that extra fitness and extra tracking ability.
“I get a lot of the credit, but it’s all her work.”
As well as tracking and catching countless offenders, Adam says Teo’s had a couple of finds with search and rescue where it likely saved the person's life, as well as helping to locate and recover people's bodies so they could be returned to their loved ones.
“She's quite a remarkable dog and just doesn’t give up,” says Adam. “She's looked after me and saved me once or twice too.”
All of which makes Adam all the more grateful, not only for the tireless work by all the vets and nurse staff who helped treat Teo, but also for the support and care from friends, colleagues and members of the public.
“People have been phoning stations to see how she’s doing, and someone even stopped me in the street the other day to ask if it was Teo with me.
“The support we’ve had has been incredible and I’m so grateful to be where we are now."
Thank you for your service, Teo. Photo: Senior Constable Alex Stammers