New Zealand police have paid tribute to a retired police dog who has died after retiring from service earlier this year.
A post on social media shared the news of the death of former police dog Manaia.
“Wellington police dog section said their final goodbye to one of our beloved floofs over the weekend”
“Rest easy Manaia, you will be missed.” the post said.
Manaia had retired into the care of handler Constable Jordan Steegh in March after an award winning career within Wellington.
She was no stranger to the spotlight having featured in episodes of Dog Squad NZ as well as many appearances in the Police Dog Calendar.
A story in the Ten One police magazine to mark her retirement said the high-performing team had racked up some pretty impressive stats – with hundreds of catches in the three years they’ve been together – and had also contributed to Search and Rescue.
Manaia had featured multiple times in the Police Dog Charitable Trust annual calendar since qualifying for the Wellington section with Constable Cam Mullenger in December 2019.
Taking the leash as a rookie handler in 2022, Jordan told the magazine he had a lot to learn from her.
“She knew what she was doing, and I had to catch up,” he said.
“It was a real crash course, but we really clicked, and she wanted to work as much as I did.”
The duo quickly proved their worth and won the Erridge Cup – a national award for the top performing dog team in their first year of operation.
Forensic photographer for NZ Police, Jane Dunn, who also specialises in K9 photography, said Manaia was a legend.
“I am so sorry to all that knew & loved her, she was an amazing working dog & but even more an amazing family member,” she posted on social media.
