Timaru now has two police dogs and handlers in its ranks after having had none for a period.
Constables Ben Todd and Michael Hargreaves recently graduated from dog handler training, and will now be joined on the job by their respective sidekicks, Welles and Midnight.
Hargreaves and Todd both said becoming dog handlers was something they had been keen on since joining the police.
The two were the only police dog handlers in Timaru.
Hargreaves joined the police in March 2016, and served as a frontline officer in Hamilton before moving to Timaru in May 2022. In May 2023, he graduated as a dog handler with Midnight.
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Dog handler constable Michael Hargreaves says Midnight is his mate, and they go through the ups and downs together.
Hargreaves explained the process of becoming a dog handler could be quite long.
Police officers must first be a qualified member of the Armed Offenders Squad to become a dog handler.
Fostering through the police breeding programme is a plus, Hargreaves said.
“They want to know you can make sound decisions under pressure.”
Hargreaves said any work experience to showed the person could “self-manage and be autonomous” in their work was also a bonus.
He said the training was repetitive, but rewarding.
“It is crucial for our dogs that they have an excellent foundation in all facets of police work, and unfortunately this means a lot of repetitive training sessions with only small developments each time.
“It is extremely rewarding getting to the end of the training process and standing proudly next to your dog at graduation though.”
Michael Hargreaves/Supplied
Constable Michael Hargreaves and his police dog Midnight after their graduation in May.
When asked how he would describe the relationship between him and Midnight, Hargreaves said it was just like any dog owner, and she lived at home with him.
“She is my mate. We go through the ups and downs together, and that in itself is pretty cool.
“I still do all your average police work, stopping cars, attending incidents, visiting schools etc. I just get to bring Midnight along wherever I go.”
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Michael Hargreaves says he is “essentially just a normal cop” but with a police dog.
“Midnight loves swimming, so in the summer months I will find a nice (safe) river to take her down to for a swim.”
His favourite moment on the job with Midnight to date was also their first proper tracking job together, following which Midnight got a big feed of BP chicken nuggets.
He said a motorist, involved in quite a severe crash, had fled the scene. Hargreaves and Midnight were called to help find him as police were worried about his injuries and suspected he had been drinking.
“The guy had an hour head start on us, but Midnight tracked him from where he was last seen, and she found him hiding in an overgrown/bushy culvert a little over a kilometre away.
“Blood test results revealed the guy had a high quantity of methamphetamine in his system, so it was an awesome catch for us.”
He said policing was an “awesome job” and “extremely rewarding”.
“You see an awful lot of what humans are really like, some good and some bad, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. It is an extremely rewarding gig. My advice is do it – you will not look back.”
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Dog handler constable Ben Todd with Welles on Wednesday.
Todd, who grew up in Timaru and attended Roncalli College, joined the police in 2017 and graduated with Welles as a dog handler in October.
“Joining the police was always a goal of mine. Working in my home district of South Canterbury, being able to contribute to making the community safer is something that has always driven me,” Todd said.
“After joining the police, working and training alongside other dog handlers, I confirmed that I was keen to follow that as a career path within the police.”
Ben Todd/Supplied
Constable Ben Todd and his police dog Welles at their graduation in October.
Todd said Welles was part of his family, and enjoyed his days off resting or going to the park.
“He also loves a good swim at the river,” Todd said.
“Our first few jobs on the street as a team were extremely rewarding, making a difference in the community and supporting my frontline colleagues.”
Todd’s advice to those wanting to join the service was that being an officer is a “challenging job but extremely rewarding”.
“Set yourself a goal and work hard. It will pay off,” he said.
All police dogs were german shepherds and are trained at the Police Dog Training Centre at Trentham, Upper Hutt, near Wellington.
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Ben Todd says Welles is a part of his family, and he enjoys his days off by resting or going to the park.
