Hawke’s Bay police dog handler Cole Devenport and Lacey are a dream match-up

Constable Cole Devenport sympathises with the dog owners among us, whose prized family pooches don’t always do as they’re told.

“I’m still learning as much as anyone and I have my bad days too,” Devenport said, with a chuckle.

“We’re lucky with our dogs, in that they’re bred with a purpose and they’ve got an idea of what they’ve got to do.”

Devenport and his dog Lacey just graduated from the New Zealand Police Dog Training Centre and are now on the beat in Hawke’s Bay.

Eight teams graduated all up, including three from the Eastern District. Constable Mitch Wooding and Boris join Devenport in being deployed in Hawke’s Bay, while Constable Alan Hogarth and Igar are off to Gisborne.

Devenport has been in frontline policing for 10 years, including a handful of those in the Armed Offenders Squad.

But dog handling “has always been my dream and I’m super stoked” to be doing it with his new best friend.

Constable Cole Devenport and Lacey. Photo / Warren Buckland

“In terms of getting teamed up, it really was just luck of the draw and I’m super, super grateful to be teamed up with Lacey because she’s a beautiful dog and a bond, just like in any relationship, is just so important,” Devenport said.

“It’s really neat that you get to go to work and then go home at the end of the day with your mate.

“She’s got a beautiful temperament and, at work, she’s super-driven and just wants to win.”

Lacey’s also teaching Devenport a thing or two, particularly when it comes to the physical training dogs and their handlers need to do.

The 2-and-a-half-year-old German shepherd is a ball of energy, as Devenport has discovered.

“I thought I was doing all right, but once I had to start running around after Lacey I soon realised I had a bit of work to do,” he said.

Devenport regards policing as “a privilege” and says he and Lacey will “do anything we can to keep our community safe”.

But it’s also unpredictable and, sometimes, dangerous work that not everyone’s cut out for.

“To be a dog handler, you’ve got to have a really good grounding and foundation as a frontline officer first,” Devenport said.

“As a dog handler, you’re on the frontline and there’s a huge variety in the work that you do.”

What makes that work especially rewarding for Devenport, is the knowledge he’s got Lacey by his side.

Hamish Bidwell joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2022 and works out of the Hastings newsroom.