What do the Central Pulse Netball, Women’s Phoenix Football and Hurricanes Poua teams have in common?

They all now have New Zealand Police 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 wāhine 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 player Kahurangi Sturmey, whos 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 – 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 New Zealand Police Foster Dog Programme.”

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