Puppy in training had tongues wagging

Hamilton Airport has a nose for a good story.

In September last year the airport announced it was going international again, with daily Jetstar flights heading back and forth between Hamilton, Sydney and the Gold Coast from June 2025.

The announcement created headlines on both sides of the Tasman, with Hamilton celebrating the thought of 100,000 passengers and a big economic boost.

But the story itself, which had been shrouded in secrecy during 15 months of negotiation, nearly came undone thanks to Kermit the dog, a 13-month-old black labrador.

Kermit is in the Ministry of Primary Industries detector dog programme. About 38 dogs work at international airports, ports, cargo companies and the Auckland mail processing centre to find products not allowed into New Zealand like fruits, vegetables, bulbs, flowers, seeds and animal products.

For the last 10 months, Kermit, complete with his official ‘puppy in training’ vest has been making regular visits to Hamilton Airport, just a five-minute drive from home for puppy walkers and carers Brett and Elyse Wallace.

“We just thought it was great way to expose Kermit to those things he would have to get used to, like the noise, crowds of people and things like the baggage carousel,” Brett says.

“We didn’t know anything was in the wings in terms of international flights but yeah, we did get a lot of questions. Sorry team!”

Hamilton Airport chief executive Mark Morgan confirmed Kermit’s presence got tongues – and tails – wagging.

“We had passengers, and the media asking why a detector dog was on site. The honest answer was because Brett and Elyse had asked if it was OK, and we wanted to help out MPI. It was as simple as that, ” Mark says.

“But with the Jetstar news now well-known, it’s a lot easier to have Kermit here. He’s a bit of a crowd-pleaser, that’s for sure.”

Kermit’s visits to Hamilton Airport will end soon, however. After nine months of socialisation with Brett and Elyse, Kermit has passed his first assessment and is heading to purpose-built kennels in Auckland next month. MPI’s team leader – kennels, Kirsty Ansell says that’s when the real work starts.

“We need dogs that can handle a busy, noisy environment, that have a strong hunt drive and can be trained,” she said. “More than anything, they need a high food drive and yes, we can confirm Kermit 100 per cent ticks that box. He’s looking good, but there’s a way to go yet.”

All going well, Kermit could be assigned to a handler and be on the job as an official biosecurity detector dog by July, although not necessarily back in Hamilton. Brett and Elyse say it would be thrilling to see him, occasionally.

“It’s been a really good experience, but he is very full-on because he is just go-go-go all the time,” Brett says.

“We’ve had a labrador before but the difference in food drive is just phenomenal. Kermit constantly has his nose down, sniffing. He’s on a mission to find something, that’s for sure, so that’s got to be a good sign.”