From RCMP Media Relations: On the evening of Feb. 6, 2018, Blackfalds RCMP was dispatched to a complaint of a suspicious male at a rural residence in Lacombe County. Police determined that the vehicle being driven by the suspect had previously been reported stolen and that the suspect had fled on foot prior to their arrival.

(file photo of RCMP service dog Eve with her handler, Cpl. Dan Block at the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre near Innisfail)

At that time, Red Deer RCMP Police Dog Services (PDS) was called in to attend the scene. The PDS team was deployed and Eve, a 6-year-old German Shepherd, began her search for the suspect. After several kilometers of tracking, Eve successfully located the suspect at an oil industry plant site where he was arrested without incident.

Cpl. Scott Lowe of the Alberta RCMP PDS says, “Our police service dogs’ operational success is a direct result of the immense amount of time and effort that PDS teams put into their continuous training.”

Eve’s achievement is a great example of the fantastic work our four-legged investigators do across the province. Police service dogs have been a part of Canada’s federal police force since 1935. In Alberta, they play a critical role in keeping our citizens safe by assisting members during investigations and targeted enforcement initiatives. Canine members are trained in a variety of capacities including locating lost persons, tracking criminals, searching for narcotics, explosives and crime scene evidence.