¡°I¡¯m going to ** shank you¡±. Advancing from the car roof, along the bonnet, screwdriver outstretched, the offender seemed in no mood to comply.
¡°I had no reason to believe he wouldn¡¯t try,¡± says Senior Constable Blair Spalding. ¡°I tried to use pepper spray but it was windy and he moved his head so it only glanced him.
¡°But it made him run. I released the dog and he caught him on the other side of the road.¡±
Blair and patrol dog Rush were responding to an early morning report of offenders interfering with a Toyota car in Thorpe Street, Hamilton, last month.
They tracked for about 2km over 20 minutes along footpaths, though a park, along roads, through a property, over a high fence and out on to Wairere Drive, then to Carrs Road, where they found two people breaking into a Honda.
¡°I challenged them,¡± says Blair. ¡°One jumped into the driver¡¯s side, the second got on to the car roof.
¡°I thought they¡¯d comply because they seemed quite scared of the dog. The guy in the car stayed there. But the guy on the roof looked like he was weighing up escape options.¡±
Those options were limited, given Blair and Rush¡¯s status as Police¡¯s current champion patrol dog team. Blair, a dog handler since 2008, is full of praise for Rush after a track worthy of a champ.
¡°It highlighted how good he is ¨C one of the best tracks of my career,¡± he says. ¡°It was like he was on rails. There was no break whatsoever.¡±
Rush refused to be distracted from the scent when Blair stopped to question a person who innocently crossed the track. ¡°Rush just wanted to carry on.
¡°He¡¯s a very good tracking dog. I love working with him.¡±
At two, Rush is Police¡¯s youngest ever champ. He and Blair ¨C whose first dog Yogi lives in retirement with his family - only graduated in June 2016.
The night provided a new experience for Blair after 19 years in Police. ¡°I¡¯ve been threatened plenty of times, and on occasions assaulted, but I¡¯ve never had anyone present a screwdriver and threaten to stab me with it. That was a first.¡±