INNISFAIL, Alberta, March 1, 2010 – Are you one of the lucky young people to name a future working police dog? This is your chance to find out.

Canada's national police force invites all young people from coast-to-coast-to-coast to name ten German shepherd puppies born at the Police Dog Service Training Centre (PDSTC) in Innisfail, Alberta.

The deadline for entires is March 29, 2010. Contest winners and prizes will be announced on April 19, 2010. Winning names will be chosen by the PDSTC staff. A draw will determine the winning entry in the event of multiple submissions of the same name.

“In 2009, the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre (PDSTC), ‘Depot’ Division, received over 8,550 individual and 343 school entries,” says Inspector Lawrence Aimoe, the officer-in-charge of the Centre. “This contest provides a tremendous opportunity for Canadian children to take part in a police program that saves lives and protects their neighborhood.”

Young people are encouraged to be original and imaginative in finding names that will serve these puppies well in their career with Canada's national police force. When thinking of names, it is important to keep in mind that these are working police dogs, not pets.

Contest rules are simple:

Contestants can suggest only one name (one entry per person). The name may be for a male or a female pup.
The name must start with the letter “C”.
The name must have no more than nine letters.
The name must be one or two syllables.
Contestants must live in Canada and be 16 years old or younger.
To enter, contestants must print their name, age, address, telephone number and the suggested name for a puppy on a postcard and mail it to:

Attn: “Name the Puppy Contest”
Police Dog Service Training Centre
Box 6120
Innisfail, AB T4G 1S8
The RCMP will accept more than one entry per household provided that each participant submit one name per postcard.

For school entries, individual student entries can be combined in one large envelope marked "School Entry". Each submission must be on an individual sheet of paper. Based on their creativity, three school classrooms will be selected to receive a special presentation by a dog handler in their region.

Although there can be only ten winners, names not selected for the contest will be considered for other puppies born during the year.

The PDSTC is home to the RCMP national police dog training program and is a proud member of "Depot" Division – the RCMP Academy. As a result of the Centre's breeding program, there are more than 160 RCMP breeding program dogs working as police dogs within the force, as well as within other partner agencies.

Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts)