CALGARY – The RCMP are hoping for help naming over a dozen dogs set to serve with Canada’s national police force.
Officers are anticipating up to 13 German Shepherd puppies will be born at the Police Dog Service Training Centre (PDSTC) in Innisfail, Alta., this spring.
The puppies will need names before becoming RCMP police dogs. As such, officers are turning to Canadian kids to submit some suggestions.
Each submission must start with the letter “J” and have no more than nine letters.
Names can be for males or females, but can only be one or two syllables.
The children whose names are selected will each receive a laminated 8×10-inch photo of the pup they named, as well as a plush dog and an RCMP cap.
Contestants must be 14 or younger.
Children are encouraged to be original and imaginative with the names, but remember they’re for working dogs, not pets.
Canadians can enter the contest online or by sending a letter with your name, age, address and phone number to the following address:
Attn: “Name the Puppy Contest”
Police Dog Service Training Centre
Box 6120
Innisfail, AB T4G 1S8
The deadline for entries is March 22, 2016.
Contest winners and prizes will be announced on April 26, 2016.
Inspector Akrum Ghadban with the Police Dog Service Training Centre said the annual contest is always an exciting time for staff.
“I am certainly looking forward to seeing all the creative contest entries from across Canada,” Ghadban said.
Last year, the RCMP chose 10 names that began with the letter “H” in their “name the puppy” contest, including Heley, Hammer, Hannah and Hero.