Police went beyond the call of duty at Parliament today after Speaker Trevor Mallard's dog Violet was overcome with excitement at meeting police dog puppies and peed under his desk.
Violet, an Australian shepherd, was in Mallard's office to meet some VIPs – very important puppies.
They were police dog German shepherd puppies visiting Parliament.
He quipped that Violet was clearly overcome by her brush with "the long paw of the law."
"She ran around excitedly sniffing them and was very welcoming and extremely well behaved. Then she went and peed under the table."
Fortunately the police puppies' handlers were prepared for such an eventuality and swept in with absorbent cloths and spray to clean it up.
Mallard is a dog-friendly Speaker who allows Parliament-based staff bring dogs to Parliament for special occasions and is known to dog-sit for others as well as his own three dogs: Violet, Australian shepherd Jeeves and Elsa the chow.
Violet compensated for her wee lapse by charming a group of schoolgirls on her way out of Parliament a bit later.