Meet Hawke's Bay's newest police pup recruit Yunka

Constable Matt Donnithorne and his police pup Yunka are busy training to become the next team to join the force. Photo / Warren Buckland

Hawke's Bay's newest police pup recruit Yunka is set to be the region's first female police in recent memory if all goes to plan.

The 11-month-old is following in her parents' footsteps, having been in the force themselves, and is halfway through her training to be a general-purpose dog.

Constable Matt Donnithorne, who is also in training to be a dog handler, said he fostered her as a pup when she was just eight weeks old and was lucky enough to keep her after successfully applying to be a dog handler.

"It's the ultimate job if you ask me. I've always been into my hunting and run the odd dog at home, labrador-wise.

"Being police is chasing criminals and holding people accountable for crimes they do. I think the best way to do it is with a dog. I'm a simple bloke."

Yunka lived with the 35-year-old and his young family in Poukawa and will undertake the first of three qualifying courses next month.

"She was a little bit crazy and a bit manic when she was a pup but as she's matured she's quietened down. She's special. She's loyal, she's always watching where I am if I'm on the move and she goes everywhere with me," Mr Donnithorne said.

Both pup and police officer have been hard at work training for their qualifications.

"She comes to work every day. We have different stages of training we have to do with a few different sessions," he said.

However, she was also a fulltime member of Mr Donnithorne's family and loved to wind down with his labradors Gizzy and Chief after a long day of training.

"She loves going home and having a play with the labradors. She loves balls, playing with balls, whether it's a soccer ball or rugby ball; she's not fussy. She loves swimming in the river, she loves the river.

"They've got a job to do and they switch on and off. As I say, she should be able to do this sort of stuff when the time is right; have a pat and switch off. But when they're asked to do their job and do the work they've got to switch on. She's really good at that."

If all goes to plan, Yunka will have completed her three courses by Christmas this year, and will join the police force as the only female general-purpose police dog with the ultimate goal to become an AOS dog, he said.