Rossburn boy meets Hector, the RCMP puppy he named
Five-year-old Jackson Antoniw was one of 13 winners in RCMP's Name the Puppy 2015 contest
RCMP in Manitoba visited a five-year-old boy in Rossburn with a special guest — a police puppy that he named.
One of the German shepherd puppies born at the RCMP's Police Dog Service Training Centre in Innisfail, Alta., was named Hector thanks to an entry submitted by Jackson Antoniw.
The winners of the Name the Puppy contest, which was open to young Canadians 16 years old or younger, were chosen earlier this year from more than 21,000 entries from across Canada.
Each winner received a photograph of the puppy they named and a letter from the RCMP's officer in charge of police dog services.
"Jackson actually got to meet Hector, which is an extremely rare circumstance," Challoner said in a news release issued Thursday.
"It's not often a dog is stationed to the province in which it was named and then gets to meet the child who named him. It was a privilege to bring Hector to meet Jackson and see the smile on Jackson's face. They really got along! It was a great moment."
Jackson's classmates and family also got to meet Hector, who has since gone to Thompson, Man., to resume his training with Challoner.