Chasing dogs, cops and robbers all in night's work

TOP DOG: Cameraman Scottie McKinnon has been filming Tauranga dog handlers including Senior Constable Derek Orchard and police dog Turk for a television series.

Jumping fences while chasing down bad guys is nothing unusual for Tauranga's police dog handlers but it's not often they have a cameraman hot on their heels.

In the dead of night cameraman Scottie McKinnon has been on the streets of Tauranga filming the handlers and their dogs at work for the sixth series of TV One's Dog Squad.

Senior Constable Derek Orchard and his dog Turk have tracked down teenagers with guns and cornered robbers during filming for the series produced by Greenstone TV.

This week Mr McKinnon has joined the boys in blue on the night shift often the busiest and most action-packed time of day.

"The bad guys come out to play at night," Mr Orchard said.

Mr McKinnon admitted the first few nights he joined the dog section were frightening.

"At the start I was s*** scared jumping fences, not knowing where you are. Wearing black you can be easily mistaken," he said. "If the public knew actually what happened at night they would be extremely concerned."

Mr Orchard agreed the job was not for everyone as dog handlers often found themselves running into dangerous situations while everyone else was running out.

"You're chasing people. You don't chase people normally. It's against the human instinct they are potentially armed," he said.

Not only did they face dangerous situations, the job also took its toll on the body, Mr Orchard said.

"You jump over a fence with a dog pulling you and you don't know what's on the other side. It might be 6ft on one side and 12ft on the other. It's very hard on your body physically."

Mr McKinnon said the hours he had spent with dog handlers during the last two years had given him a new appreciation for what they do.

"I'm quite amazed, personally, how the dogs find people. I think we should have more of them. I'm blown away," he said.

"They are all really good guys and extremely passionate about what they do."