It’s a WOW for Watch out Waikato – home of the new ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Police Patrol Dog Champion team of Constable Scott Gosnell and Apex.
In a near clean sweep, the pair who have been working together since graduating in June 2020, have won the Frank Riley Cup for highest overall marks, the William Rose Bowl for criminal work disciplines, the Commissioner’s Challenge Cup for highest marks in obedience and the Monaghan Trophy for highest marks in heelwork.
Inspector Todd Southall, ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Coordinator: Police Dogs, says Constable Scott Gosnell and Apex’s success is impressive against intensive competition from ten other patrol dog handlers.
“They’ve stood out in a tough field, demonstrating the same sort of high performing aptitude and success they show when working operationally in the Waikato.”
Constable Gosnell is “surprised and very pleased” with the haul of silverware. “We had our ups and downs but you never take anything for granted. I’ve had Apex since he was 8 weeks old and our success is all due to the help and support from my Waikato colleagues.”
Constable Aaron Senior and Nour from Blenheim, Tasman District, won the Colin Guppy Trophy for tracking in the Patrol Dog Championship. He’s competed previously for Canterbury until transferring to Tasman District and was rapt to win the tracking.
“A great result as we only got called up for the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾s on Friday as replacement for another team who were injured.”
Police were first and second in the Narcotic Detector Dog category, with Auckland’s Senior Constable Chris Harris and Floyd winning the Alan Symes Cup. They’re no strangers to the title having previously won it in 2018, and the Australasian title the same year before finishing runners-up in 2019 when the championships were last held.
“It’s great to win but an absolute privilege simply to take part. All the agencies were really strong.”
Northland’s Senior Constable Patrick Derbyshire and Ripper were second.
Also competing in this category were two teams from Corrections and two from Customs.
Aviation Security Officer Amon Nepe from Queenstown won the Aviation Security Shield for the most outstanding team in the Explosives Detector Dog category. He was competing against another AVSEC colleague and two teams from NZ Defence Force.
Inspector Southall says this is the 49th year of competition but COVID lockdowns and operational requirements forced a postponement in the past two years.
“It’s been a testing few days for all the handlers, most of whom were competing in a nationals for the first time. The tasks they’ve faced under the scrutiny of judges replicate their operational work, and in all weathers.
“All the tasks and test activities are based on the real-life skills and decisions that handlers and their dogs must make when they are responding day and night to a variety of incidents.
“Dog teams do a fantastic job in helping keep our communities safe. They provide a critical frontline response, detection and prevention capability.
“It’s really exciting to see the blend of youth and experience we’ve seen in the past few days. It bodes well for the ongoing development of dog section capability across all services.”
