How a homeless Christchurch dog found a new life in law enforcement

Having once lived on the streets of Christchurch, German Shorthaired Pointer 'Noah' is now on the frontline of border control. Found wandering in September last year, Christchurch Council Support Officer Lionel Bridger says staff recognised his talents almost immediately.

“When we got him out in our paddock he was quick to get his nose to the ground, taking everything in. We could see he had some basic training already. He was very focused and an all-round lovely, sweet guy.”

However, Bridger says it wasn’t until the shelter uploaded a photo of him as part of their adoption efforts that Noah was first selected as a detector dog.

“One of the officers from MPI saw him, came in, met him. They did a really quick assessment with him at the shelter, and he was brilliant. They then arranged to take him out to Christchurch Airport for another assessment and he did really well there, so then they adopted him and put him on a plane to Auckland for his training.”

What followed was six months of intensive training, where Noah presumably brought with him a level of street smarts to the academy. Either way, having spent half a year being exposed to all sorts of biosecurity risks, Noah is now a fully trained detector dog, and can be spotted patrolling Christchurch Airport. 

However, not all stray dogs are as lucky. The simple fact is that not all breeds are cut out for gainful employment, and so, Bridger urges people to take the necessary precautions.

“Microchip your dog. If they’re in our system, we'll get that dog home. The most difficult part is picking up dogs that aren't microchipped, and then we struggle to get hold of the owners. Here in Christchurch, it's free every Wednesday from 11am to 12pm at our shelter. If you can't make it then contact us and we'll make arrangements to get your dog chipped.”