Labrador x springer spaniel Piper’s nose is constantly twitching, and she does not sit still.
Meeting with her and owner Don Schwass it’s clear that she is overtly aware of everything happening around her.
Don and Piper have become the go-to pair for locating lost dogs and Don decided it was time Piper was recognised for her efforts.
So he nominated Piper for the NZ Top Dog Competition, where she has been named as a finalist from almost 400 dogs around the country.
“I decided that I tend to be getting all the recognition, yet Piper is one of the many tools that I use. A lot of the finds that I have, she’s part of it.”
Her first find at just six-months old was a local dog, Midnight, who had been missing for eight days. Don and Piper found Midnight in just two-and-a-half hours. Since then, Don has lost track of how many rescues three-and-a-half-year-old Piper has been involved with, but she is a frequent flyer, having assisted with rescues all over the country.
He says Piper has helped reunite lost dogs with their families in Auckland’s CBD, a private goldmine down south, and a dog who disappeared when the vehicle he was in crashed near Hanmer Springs last year.
Don now gets calls from overseas, having given over-the-phone help to both Queensland and Rarotonga last week.
Don says Piper responds to the command ‘show me’ among others, but it is as much about Don paying attention to Piper as Piper showing him things, sometimes without knowing.
“It’s just reading her body language, sometimes there’s movement in the head, sometimes it’s only subtle, it might be just a real quick turn of the head,” Don says.
“Piper is the only trained tracking dog in the country that is specifically trained to locate a lost dog anywhere in New Zealand.”
Don is hoping that the region, and country, will get behind Piper in the NZ People’s Choice category which is one of three titles up for grabs alongside Top Dog with a Job, which she could also take out, and Top Office Job.
“It’s a strange one, we don’t seek recognition, but she’s worked hard to be where she is.”
Voting closes at 9am Thursday, 29 August. Head here to place a vote for Piper.
