A beautiful black and tan German Shepherd bitch, named Famke, arrived into our Quarantine Facility from the Netherlands on 19th January 2006. She was to stay for 30 days in quarantine.

Famke was imported for the New Zealand Police Dog breeding program in Wellington. She was mated before flying in the hope that she would carry some good quality puppies and was indeed pregnant upon arrival.

Famke was due to go home on 17th February 2006, but unfortunately MAF found some problems with her blood test results. This meant that she would need to be retested and would have to wait in quarantine until her test came back. Her result came back and required her to be retested and wait again until the result come back. MAF informed us that if her test result was OK, she would be allowed to go home.

Famke produced 4 beautiful pups (2 boys and 2 girls), who were born on 28th February 2006.

Unfortunately due to a change in MAF Administration, the decision was made that Famke and her puppies would have to remain in quarantine for a 6 month period. This would be disastrous for the social skills needed for the puppies to develop into working police dogs, as this must be done before 4 months of age. A meeting was held between Qualified Pet Services and the Police dog training unit and a roster was worked out so that the puppies could have as much interaction between staff and the police as possible within the quarantine restrictions. Staff began visiting the pups individually three times daily and giving them one-on-one contact. Toys and tunnels were made and played with, Police officers visited on a regular basis. This was to try and help the pups learn to be independent from each other and their mum. During their stay with us, staff became very attached to Famke and her pups. Great professional care and time was spent in caring and socializing the puppies. Police Dog Handlers from around the country also became regular visitors to help with the socialization of the pups.

After much discussion between the police, MAF, and ourselves it was finally decided that Famke and her pups could go home when they were 6 weeks old. On the day before their release hasty phone calls were made to coordinate their flight to Wellington. QPS staff took the family to the airport to meet Sgt Mark Sandford, who was to escort them on their flight to Wellington. Many a tear was shed by our staff when the time came for Famke and her pups to leave, but everyone was glad that they could all be released to a normal life outside of Quarantine.

Famke and her pups have now settled into the Police Dog Training Centre in Wellington where Famke's pups will one day hopefully become fully trained police dogs working to keep New Zealand safe. The Police dog training centre in Wellington awarded Qualified Pet Services a certificate of appreciation for all the help that they gave to Famke and her pups during a difficult time.