Dunedin’s newest police dog on the block has some large paw-prints to fill. 

Dunedin dog handler Constable Regan Wilson was proud to be able to officially welcome his new police dog Huxx to the ranks earlier this month. 

However, it was bittersweet as it meant Vann, his police dog of seven years, would be retired from duties. 

Const Wilson said Vann has had a great career, but “it’s time to hang the vest up”. 

"He’s been a great dog, caught a lot of people . . . he's done really well, so it’s nice for him to be able to relax now and retire in peace.”

Vann would now get to enjoy being Const Wilson’s house pet all hours of the day. 

He is a bit of a legend among Southern police dogs — Vann has managed some spectacular catches.

As soon as he started out as a rookie in 2017, he managed 42 arrests in 41 “tracking catches'” in his first eight months. 

"With Vann, I wasn't on the Dog Section yet, so I fostered him up to about 14 months, and then he went off to another handler and then came back to me once I got a position.

"It's a pretty rewarding feeling, knowing that you've trained them all the way through.”

Vann’s retirement meant it was now time for two-year-old Huxx to try and fill some big paw-prints. 

Const Wilson has had Huxx since he was a puppy, and took him through training himself. 

It was helpful to have Vann around to show Huxx how it was done, Const Wilson said. 

"For things like socialising Huxx around new environments . . . I think it definitely has helped to show him the ropes.

"It's like having a big brother — Huxx’s pretty confident around going in new places and that’s exactly what you need for a police dog.”

Const Wilson said Huxx had passed his training with flying colours, and seemed to take to police work very well. 

He has been officially on the job for a few weeks now, and has already successfully tracked an alleged offender. 

"In the moment, it's a pretty special feeling knowing that you and your dog as a team have caught someone that may never have been caught otherwise . . . it's a very rewarding feeling.

"It’ll be nice for Huxx to get a tracking catch so I can say ‘this is the offender that he's trapped’."

laine.priestley@odt.co.nz