Mounties name 10 new top dogs

INNISFAIL, Alberta, April 6 (UPI) -- Ten fluffy German shepherd puppies with a future police career with the Canadian Mounties have been named in a national children's contest.

The 10-week-old dogs are at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police training center in Innisfail, Alberta, and have been selected to undergo "general duty" training, although depending on capabilities, some will undergo advanced training in such specialties as the detection of drugs and explosives.

The national force has held an annual contest for 10 years for children to name the year's pup recruits, each year's brood beginning with a single letter of the alphabet.

Of this year's almost 3,200 entries for names beginning with the letter D, the winners were Dief, Drey, Dale, Dragon, Deacon, Dene, Diego, Doc, Deuce and Dane, the force said in a release.

The winners ranged in age from 8 to 16 and spanned the country, the RCMP said. They will receive photographs of the dogs and Mountie-branded merchandise.

The force has 135 multi-purpose operational dog teams across the country, 24 of which are considered specialty dogs trained in narcotics or explosives detection.