Milly, Makwa and Moose: Kids choose names for puppies at RCMP training centre

INNISFAIL, Alta. – Thirteen canine recruits at the RCMP's police dog training centre in central Alberta are getting names chosen by kids from across the country.

Mounties say their annual name-the-puppies contest received a record-setting 34,714 entries from children in every province and territory — beating the previous record by more than 13,000.

This year's names all had to start with the letter M.

The winning entries were Mace, Madox, Magnum, Makwa, Maple, Marci, Marlow, Max, Maya, Memphis, Mika, Milly and Moose.

The winners each receive an official RCMP baseball cap, a plush dog called Justice and a laminated photo of the puppy they named.

RCMP police service dogs search for missing or lost people, track and apprehend criminals, remove illicit drugs from the streets, detect explosives and search for evidence used in crimes.

The training centre in Innisfail, Alta., is for all RCMP police dog teams in Canada.