RCMP puppies need names, Canadian children invited to submit suggestions | Globalnews.ca
Thirteen soon-to-be-born German Shepherd puppies need a name.
But they aren’t just any pet puppies — they could one day be working police dogs — deployed to RCMP detachments across Canada.
Thirteen soon-to-be-born puppies at the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre in Innisfail, Alta., need names, and this year they must begin with the letter ‘B.’.
Courtesy: RCMP
Canada’s national police force holds a contest every year to provide names for puppies being raised at the RCMP’s Police Dog Services Training Centre (PDSTC) in Innisfail, Alta., about 120 km north of Calgary.
Children between the ages of four and 14 are invited to submit their “original and imaginative” suggestions for the puppies being born this year at the training centre.
The puppies born and raised at the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre could have future careers in such areas as search and rescue or narcotics and explosive detection.
Courtesy: RCMP
The prospective names must meet a number of criteria, including:
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- The names must all begin with the letter B
- They must be usable for a male or female puppy
- It must be no longer than nine letters
- It must be only one or two syllables
- Contestants must be between the ages of four and 14
- Contestants must live in Canada
- Only one entry per person is permitted
- All entries must be received by March 26, 2026
The RCMP encourages children who do enter names to ensure they are suitable for puppies serving with Canada’s national police force, keeping in mind that they will be working police dogs, not pets.
A drug sniffing dog shows off its skills at the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre in Innisfail, Alta.
Global News
The winning names will be selected by staff at the police dog training centre, and in the event that there are multiple entries of the same name, a draw will be used to determine the winning contestant.
The 13 children whose names are selected will each receive a laminated 8×10 photo of the pup they named, a plush dog named Justice and an RCMP water bottle.
Names that aren’t selected as winners for the contest will still be considered for naming other puppies born during the year.
The deadline for the RCMP’s puppy-naming contest is March 26.
Courtesy: RCMP
Children who want to enter the contest must do so by visiting the RCMP’s Name the Puppy contest page.
Entries will no longer be accepted through the mail.
Contest winners and prizes will be announced in late April.
Among the winning names last year, which all began with the letter A, were Arctic, Action, Atim and Agent.
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