Thousands of pounds were spent on accommodation and travel to allow a police ombudsman's investigator to keep a pet dog at his side.
The officer, recruited to Northern Ireland from Scotland Yard, stayed in a luxury out-of-town house and travelled home to London by car and ferry at weekends, rather than be parted from his German shepherd.
Astonished ex-colleagues said he even brought an urn containing the dog's ashes into Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's central Belfast headquarters after the animal died.
A spokesman for the Ombudsman said accommodation and travel arrangements for the investigating officer — who has since quit Mrs O'Loan's team — were in line with others seconded from UK forces.
He refused to disclose how much of the Ombudsman's £7 million a year budget was spent on him, citing the Data Protection Act.
Investigating staff in the Ombudsman's office who probe complaints against the police are drawn from former Royal Ulster Constabulary officers and those with experience in other UK forces — the bulk coming from the Met.
In most cases seconded officers stay in rented apartments in Belfast, flying home at weekends.
But when the London-based staff member brought his dog with him he requested more spacious accommodation.
He was put up in the plush Kensington development on the edge of Hillsborough, Co Down, where property now fetches £500,000.
"It was like a half million pounds dog kennel," one of those who worked alongside him claimed.
The Ombudsman's Office stressed no public money was squandered in catering for his requirements.
A spokesman for Mrs O'Loan said: "Seconded officers are provided with a standard allowance for accommodation or accommodation at an equivalent cost.
"Staff are free to make travel arrangements that meet their needs, as long as the cost is in line with alternative ways of travelling."
PA