"Pawsome win for NZ Police dog teams"

New Zealand Police dog handlers have retained the Australasian police trials trophy after six days of intense competition in Melbourne.

Senior Constables Dave Robison and Isaac from Whakatane won the individual patrol dog category, with Senior Constable Owen Davies and Quid from Auckland as runners up.

Dave and Isaac also took out the top tracking award while Owen and Quid won the top searching award.

Together their results meant that New Zealand Police retained the team trophy.

Senior Constable Phillip (Tiny) Taylor and Murphy also put in a strong performance against tough opposition in the narcotic detector dog trophy.

Some of the officers will return to New Zealand later today (Sunday 30 October) but the three dogs will have another few days in Melbourne for standard vet checks before they fly home and return to operational duties.

ENDS

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