"I gave him a cuddle and we had a big play. I was just lost for words."
Thames, a three-year-old German shepherd, went missing during an enquiry and rescue exercise in New Zealand’s Tararua Ranges. He spent seven days and nights alone in the mountains because the New Zealand Police fervently looked for their missing companion.
On Sunday, Thames was finally reunited with his handler, Constable Mike Wakefield, after the six-person rescue team sent bent search for him A new paw print was found in the mud and tracked him. Though police dogs are trained to be calm, Thames couldn’t contain his happiness, jumping on his handler and licking him, as shown during a video released by the New Zealand Police.
Wakefield was equally relieved. “He’s pretty happy to ascertain me,” he says in the video, holding Thames back from knocking him over. “I’m pretty happy to ascertain him.” “He wolfed down half my salami which may be a treat for him,” Wakefield said during a release. “I gave him a cuddle and that we had an enormous play. I used to be just lost for words.”