Innisfail, Alta., April 2, 2008 - The annual "Name the Puppy" contest, held by the R RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre (PDSTC), Depot Division, has once again been a great success. After careful deliberation, the selection committee has reached a decision and is pleased to announce this year's winning entries.
This year marked the eighth anniversary of this popular contest that enables Canadian children and schools to take part in a police program that saves lives and protects neighborhoods from coast-to-coast-to-coast. There were 7,126 entries in total, a 40% increase from last year.
As in previous years, participants came up with original and unique names. For multiple entries of the same name, the committee selected one winner by draw. This year's submissions had to begin with the letter "A". The ten successful entries and the winners are:
- Ace – Anya Reti (age 12) Whitehorse, Yukon
- Ajax – Mark D'Eon (age 15) West Pubnico, N.S.
- Angel – Jennelle Beck (age 5) Grande Prairie, Alta.
- Angus – Taylor Weatherald (age 15) Moosomin, Sa sk.
- Argo – Bianca Villa (age 16) Montreal, Que.
- Arctic – Timothy McRae (age 7) Nanaimo, B.C.
- Asia – Elizabeth Berard (age 6) Winnipeg, Man.
- Autumn – Autumn Mousseau (age 5) Marius, Man.
- Azlin – Abbey Bent (age 10) Chester, N.S.
- Aztec – Katrina Bugera (age 11) Vita, Man.
The three winning entries from the 327 classroom submissions are:
- École publiqu e Jean-Ethier-Blais, Sudbury, Ont.
- Arthur E. Wright School, Winnipeg, Man.
- Father Lacombe School, Lacombe, Alta.
The top ten winners will each receive a 5×7-inch laminated photograph of their "officially" named puppy, an official RCMP ball cap, a plush dog named "Justice" and a certificate.
Each classroom will re ceive an 8×10-inch laminated picture of RCMP puppies, a plush dog named "Justice" and a certificate. Please note that the other entries will also be used to name future puppies.
On behalf of the PDSTC staff and the pup pies, Inspector Aimoe and Corporal Benoit would like to thank all who entered the contest and express their sincere appreciation for their efforts.
The RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre, Depot Division, is the national training ce ntre in Canada for all RCMP police dog teams. Currently, there are 123 multi-purpose operational dog handlers in Canada and 17 specialty dogs that detect narcotics or explosives. The RCMP Police Service Dog Breeding Program has produced over 70 working do gs that are in service to Canadians and over 100 dogs that are working with other police agencies around the world.
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