Tauranga police dog handler Scott Higby and his German Shepherd Chip are part of the coastal Bay of Plenty canine unit. Photo / Brydie Thompson
“It’s the best job ever. I don’t think there’s a better one.”
Despite facing multiple attacks on the job, Tauranga police dog handler Scott Higby doesn’t see himself ending his patrols with police dog Chip anytime soon.
Higby is a second-generation police officer. He was inspired by his uncle, as well as a family friend, to join the force.
“I never knew what I’d want to do in the police, but I always did want to do it.”
Higby started his career in the Hamilton police force nine years ago before transferring to Tauranga to work as a dog handler in 2021.
“Hamilton’s busier for sure,” he said. “This town seems a lot more relaxed, I’d say.”
The pair were called into situations that involved tracking people and things, and circumstances that required Chip’s aggression.
“I cover the coastal Bay of Plenty, which is from Katikati all the way down to Ōpōtiki.
“We’re a frontline unit ourselves, and we back up all the other frontline cops and AOS [Armed Offenders Squad].”
Higby said there were about 140 dog handlers out of about 10,000 police officers nationwide.
“It’s a hard job to get into. It takes a lot of commitment and a lot of work. You have to want to work with a dog all day.”
Not only did the pair work together all day, but they also lived together.
Higby said you had to be resilient, as working with a dog fulltime in this position came with challenges.
“We can only communicate through body language.
“If we’re tracking somebody, I’m just going off what he’s doing. He’s going to pick up their scent and he’s going to track them and he’s going to indicate to me through his body language what’s happening, wagging his tail, that sort of thing.”
Higby said he and Chip had built a strong bond over the years.
“I like him better than a lot of the people I work with,” he joked. “I’d pick him every time.”
Higby said there were six police dogs in the Tauranga, Western Bay of Plenty area and another two in Whakatāne. Rotorua police had their own and also covered Taupō.
“We work a roster; it’s usually one of us at a time. I could be anywhere in that area.”
The pair start their 10-hour shift at home and drive to wherever they are needed.
A recent busy Saturday started with tracking down people who had made a run for it when getting arrested.
The alleged offenders jumped in cars and fled to Mount Maunganui.
The duo tracked one of them down in Mount Maunganui and one that had made their way to Edgecumbe.
“The guy had been wanted since October. We got down there and Chip tracked him for about an hour and caught him.”
Higby said the pair had barely caught their breath before they were called back to a burglary in Tauranga, where they tracked and caught the suspect.
“From start to finish, we were busy.”
Higby said the heightened situations they dealt with could be challenging, in particular when someone attacked him or Chip.
He said Chip had been attacked a few times, usually involving people who were intoxicated or on drugs.
A person in a “normal state” would give up if bitten by Chip, but for people on substances, it fuelled their anger, and they often took it out on Chip.
In one instance, the pair were following a stolen ute through Katikati when the driver turned and drove into the side of the police car, crushing Chip’s door before taking off on foot into the orchards.
Chip was stuck in the car, and after Higby managed to get him out, he was “a little bit rattled… but he still managed to track the guy and catch him”.
After a long day, the two have different approaches to decompress.
Higby said he liked to train at the gym to get his mind off work and burn some energy.
Chip “switches off almost instantly”, Higby said.
“He’s a big fan of having his dinner and hopping into his kennel.”
Higby said he loved his job and in five years’ time he aimed to still work with dogs “because it’s the best job ever”, or work his way up to being in charge.
Five-year-old Chip had a lot of life ahead of him and would work alongside Higby until he becomes a stay-at-home dog, with his best friend.
“Chip and I since 2021″.