Because who doesn’t love a cute dog story …. New Zealand’s Detector Dog programme has been running for 25 years and recently welcomed the latest litter – P litter.

Late November, working dog Huia gave birth to nine beagle pups within four and a half hours and unassisted – super mum!

As is Biosecurity New Zealand custom, all names of the pups start with the initial of the litter – in this case, “P”. The names are Pippa, Polly, Pixie, Peggy, Pete, Pedro, Pluto, Padma and Pilot.

Before starting training, the tiny new recruits will be fostered out to families for the first 14 months of their lives. Some of the pups may not make the grade – it takes some special sniffing skills to become a biosecurity detector dog.