Retirement of detector dog Casey

During her service she was operationally deployed to Auckland for 2 years before making the big move down south to Christchurch.

Her handler remembers the first day she was paired up with Casey thinking "wow, look at this crazy dog go, no matter the time of day she would be spinning in circles ready to go when she knew it was work time”.  Her handler reflects how Casey has been such a fun, highly driven dog to work, always smiling and challenging her to become an amazing team. 

Casey enjoyed all aspects of work life, covering the far North right down to Queenstown for work in the detection of narcotics, currency and firearms.  She would let everyone know she had arrived at the airport with a bark before eagerly screening passengers.  Casey has had some great successes as a detector dog, including at her favourite place with over $1.7 million detected in undeclared currency at airports. ​​​​​​​

We come full circle with Casey retiring and her handler’s new detector dog, Dexter, joining the Customs whanau. 

Our Customs detector dogs continue to serve as another border security measure helping to keep harm out of New Zealand.  You’ll find us operating across a range of environments throughout the country including; international airports, seaports, cargo streams and search warrants to find illicit drugs, large sums of undeclared cash and firearms.