Trio name Bolt as one sharp puppy

Three Wanganui children who entered a competition to name a prospective new police dog got an enthusiastic greeting from the fluffy 10 week-old pup when they got a chance to meet him yesterday.

The children all submitted the name Bolt in response to a competition organised by Whanganui Police dog handler Senior Constable Jason Page.

Mr Page's current dog, Ace, is due to retire in July, so he was given a new puppy to train from the NZ Police Dog Training Centre.

Because the pup came from the "B" litter, he had to have a name that started with B and was different from all the other dogs from previous B litters on active duty.

After numerous entries which included names such as Bayli, Bruce, Benji and Bonzai, Mr Page said he chose Bolt because it sounded strong and there was a movie with a super-hero dog named Bolt in it.

Instead of choosing one winner, the three children who submitted the name, Pearl Ross, 7, Tamati Dalbeth, 5, and Zaza Guyton, 7, were named joint winners.

All three children said they had chosen the name Bolt from the animated movie of the same name. They were given NZ Police Dog Training Centre logo T-shirts, caps and pins and were yesterday taken along to a police dog training afternoon with Bolt and two older dogs, Bax and Ace.

Mr Page said he'd had Bolt for two weeks and the puppy was already proving himself to be independent and confident.

Of a litter of nine, Bolt was one of the bigger ones and had good drive, which was a positive sign.

Yesterday, Bolt was being trained in scent boxing, the very initial stages of tracking.

He will begin his formal training in July, which will last eight months. It will not be known until the final stages of his training if he has what it takes to be a police dog.

If Bolt passes his training, Ace will be retired to a civilian home.