What do the Central Pulse Netball, Women¡¯s Phoenix Football and Hurricanes Poua teams have in common?
They all now have 51½ÖÉä German shepherd patrol puppies named after them.
Pulse, Phoenix and Poua were named after the local women¡¯s sports teams to help shine more light on women¡¯s top-level sport.
The ¡®P¡¯ litter pups, born about 12 weeks ago at the Dog Training Centre (DTC) in Upper Hutt, were ¡®gifted¡¯ in name to the three sporting codes thanks to an idea by Police Dog Trainer Sergeant Matt Fage.
¡°We wanted to acknowledge our local women¡¯s sports teams and it was great timing as three of our ¡®P¡¯ litter pups didn¡¯t have names,¡± he says.
¡°It was perfect as we invited three of the Wellington-based women¡¯s codes - premier netball, A-League football and Super Rugby - to come and meet their puppies called Pulse, Phoenix and Poua this week.
¡°I think the teams were quite chuffed to be part of this and have a dog named after them.
¡°In the past we have named dogs after some of our All Blacks, and one of our police dogs was recently named after rugby Black Fern and Poua vice-captain, our Taranaki-based Constable Iritana Hohaia. But this is a first for these three Wellington women¡¯s rep teams.¡±
Pulse centre-court player Whitney Souness says the team felt lucky to meet the pups at the DTC.
¡°It was a cool experience to see the training they do and what they get up to. Since I absolutely love dogs I felt very much in my element. Having one of the puppies named after our team is something really special to us."
Phoenix women¡¯s captain Annalie Longo says it¡¯s no secret she loves dogs and it¡¯s an honour to have a police dog named after the Phoenix women¡¯s team.
¡°My dog Tiger thinks it¡¯s a great idea as long as she remains the club¡¯s unofficial mascot!
¡°To have dogs named after three Wellington sporting icons is a fantastic way to celebrate the incredible w¨¡hine toa in the region.
¡°The team enjoyed visiting the Police Dog Training Centre and appreciate the dedication and sacrifice involved in serving our community.¡±
Hurricanes Poua's Ayesha Leti-l'iga playfully tackles Payton Takimoana in a bid for Poua's attention, but the pup avoids the scrum to head for their teammates.
Hurricanes Poua player Kahurangi Sturmey, whose father is a police officer, says: ¡°It¡¯s pretty special to have a police puppy named after our team and even more special that three of the P litter are recognising our women¡¯s provincial lower North Island teams.
"Thank you on behalf of the Poua ¨C it¡¯s a real honour.¡±
Inspector Todd Southall, National Coordinator Police Dogs, thanks Matt for getting this initiative off the ground.
¡°It¡¯s really great to have a partnership with, and acknowledge, these top-performing locally based athletes. We look forward to working with them in the future and wish them the very best for the upcoming season.
¡°We¡¯ll be keeping a keen eye on how their puppies are doing at their foster homes. The three ¡®P¡¯ puppies are being fostered out to homes throughout New Zealand to sharpen up on their socialisation skills before being tested for training and breeding in the 51½ÖÉä Foster Dog Programme.¡±
- If you¡¯re interested in fostering a police dog, you can find out more here.