LPS enlisting kids help in naming new member of K9 team
By Lethbridge Herald on June 15, 2022.
Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Police Services Cst. Braylon Hyggen speaks to the media about the newest member of the K9 unit and the Name the Puppy Contest currently being held to find him a name Wednesday at the Lethbridge Police Station.Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald
apulido@lethbridgeherald.com
The Lethbridge Police Service K9 Unit is asking for help with the naming of their newest member by inviting children in the community to enter the Name the Puppy contest.
LPS needs help naming a 12-week-old Belgian Malinois puppy who is just beginning his training to become the newest member of the K9 Unit.
Cst. Braylon Hyggen with the K9 Unit is currently taking care of the puppy and teaching him some basic commands. He told the media Wednesday that even though a lack of name has not impacted the basic commands training at this stage, it will be beneficial to have one for further training.
“We have four older working dogs right now and this will be our newest one that we will start training. It’s been the first time in a few decades that we’ve actually taken on a pup and we’re going to raise him to see how he does, if he could make the cut and become one of our next police dogs in a year and a half,” said Hyggen.
He said they wanted to send the request out to the community for any children aged four to 14 to submit a name.
“Couple requirements are that it has to be one to two syllables, it’s just easier for them to understand the name and then obviously we will with the name, if it’s similar to some of the other dogs that we currently have, we will test the other dogs to see if they respond to the name,” said Hyggen.
He said his dog’s name is Mike so if somebody decided to name the new pup Ike, they would test Mike with Ike and see if he responds.
“We wouldn’t want that to happen, so there will be some criteria that we will go through to make sure the name is correct,” said Hyggen.
The naming contest is open to children who reside in the City of Lethbridge which is the jurisdiction of the LPS and the deadline to submit entries is July 4.
Contestants are encouraged to be original and imaginative in suggesting a name, but are asked to keep in mind the puppy will be a working police dog, not a pet.
Each child may submit one entry only, the name must be one or two syllables and contain no more than nine letters.
The winning name will be chosen by a panel of K9 officers and the child whose name is selected will get the chance to meet the puppy and receive other prizes including a photo and plush Malinois.
Entries can be submitted online at https://www.lethbridgepolice.ca/photo-contest-entry or by filling out a form at the front desk of the police station during business hours. Follow @APulidoHerald on Twitter
15-14
How about Clouseau