After more than six years of service together, Constable Arnie Klassen and police dog Tika continue to find illegal substances traditional searches would miss.

The Winkler Police Service K9 unit's specialty is drug detection, Tika can identify nine different illegal drugs including meth, cocaine and heroin. Her most common work is vehicle searches, and is often brought in when drug warrants are executed.

"If you don't have a tool such as a K9 unit to ensure you've located all the drugs, you always wonder if you missed something," Police Chief Rick Hiebert says, adding having Tika is a great comfort.

"She can find drugs better than we can," Klassen says, noting Tika is also trained in article searching, able to identify if an object (sometimes as small as a coin) has a fresh human scent.

With a high energy dog, Klassen says Tika is motivated by positive reinforcement. She is rewarded with play after performing the desired actions.

"She loves to play so much, that once she figures out what she's supposed to do in order to get her reward, she will do it very quickly, and very eagerly," Klassen says. "It's a lot more fun than having a dog that's just being obedient because it's scared that it's going to be corrected."

Klassen says working in a K9 unit has been a dream of his since starting with the Winkler Police Service, combining his love of dogs with police work.

"But I didn't really think I'd have that opportunity," he says, in a smaller centre like Winkler.

Hiebert says he greatly respects Klassen and the work he's done.

"It's quite an undertaking and a huge responsibility, it's not just another tool you can put away in your locker," Hiebert says.

The high energy Belgian Malinois requires plenty of exercise, which means running and biking for Klassen. And when not on duty Tika lives with Klassen at his home.

"She's part of my life at work and at home," he says. "We've spent a lot of time together, there's definitely a bond there."

While getting older, at ten (human years) old, Klassen says there is no set time to retire Tika as long as she is still able to do the job. While her mind is still sharp, Klassen says Tika has been slowing down physically.

"I don't think about it very much, but when she's not working with me anymore I'll probably miss that, maybe more than I realize," he says. "She's a good aspect to my day. I don't think I've actually prepared for it emotionally... there will be a hole in my day when I don't have her anymore."

Another aspect of his work is touring schools and public demonstrations. Klassen explains he intentionally meets with grade seven classes, "to get to them before they've had exposure to drugs."

Demonstrating Tika's abilities adds an exciting aspect for students, "it's easy to get kids attention," he says, and hopefully make an impression on the youth.

Hiebert says the public relations aspect is worth the cost of the program alone.

Despite the taboo topic, Klassen's advice to parents and teachers is to be educated, and not hide or ignore the reality of drugs. He makes sure every grade seven class in Winkler receives a presentation every year.

"Talk about it, be honest, tell them what the pros and cons are, because kids have to make their own choices, it might as well be as educated a choice as possible," he says. "Hopefully they'll make better choices the more they know about it."