One black and one Sable puppy (photo credit: RCMP)

By Kevin Rothwell

Phazer, Paisley, Piper and more

New fluffy RCMP recruits named

May 2, 2021 | 7:30 AM

They are cute as button right now, but one day soon 13 puppies at the RCMP Dog Service Training Centre in Innisfail, Alberta will be an important part of the force.

RCMP dog services units play a key role in helping track suspects and locate lost persons.

The RCMP have announced the winners of the 2021 Name the Puppy contest.

It was the first year the contest was held virtually and a record 20,000 online entries from youth across Canada. There was a winner from each province and territory, B.C.’s winning entry was Phazer entered by Darius Brevick of Prince George.

“I was amazed by the level of participation from across Canada. This is my first year as the head of the Police Dog Service Training Centre and I’m extremely proud that our contest reached so many children,” Inspector Alana McLeod, Officer in Charge of RCMP Police Dog Services said.

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All names had to start with the letter P. For entries of the same name, a draw determined the winner.

The winning entries are:

• Paisley – Jaden Jones (Val-des-Monts, Quebec)
• Pax – Mathias Levesque (Saint-André, New Brunswick)
• Pepper – Leanna Kautuq (Clyde River, Nunavut)
• Peyak – Kinsley Thomas (Wabowden, Manitoba)
• Peyton – Peyton Short (Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador)
• Phantom – Hunter Kamphuis (Mermaid, Prince Edward Island)
• Phazer – Darius Brevick (Prince George, British Columbia)
• Phelan – Emmet Blake (St. Catharines, Ontario)
• Piper – Jersey Ganes (Sherwood Park, Alberta)
• Pixel – Adele Mcneely (Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories)
• Polly – Aviendha Clark (Whitehorse, Yukon)
• Preston – Michael Hill (Kentville, Nova Scotia)
• Pria – Zach Ross (White City, Saskatchewan)

Each of the 13 winners will receive a laminated 8×10-inch photo of the pup they named, a plush dog named Justice and an RCMP water bottle.

For those who want a head start thinking of names for next year’s contest, all names in 2022 must start with the letter R.