MISSOURI WATER PATROL DOG IS MORE THAN A PRETTY FACE

Rikky the drug dog has a credibility problem.

Not that Rikky isn't dedicated, well-trained and enthusiastic.

It's just that he's, well... cute.

Which is fine for, say, movie-star dogs. Benji. Lady. Tramp. In a
movie-star dog, you want cute.

But not so much when it comes to seizing drugs on the Lake of the Ozarks.

Rikky, you see, is an member of the Missouri Water Patrol. He's the
patrol's first full-time water dog.

Rikky is also an English cocker spaniel.

You know the type. Long, silky ears. A stub of a tail in constant
motion. Expressive brown eyes.

Thirty-five wriggling pounds of cute.

"Yeah, he's a foo-foo dog," says Rikky's partner, Officer Eric Smith,
with a note of resignation.

And Smith had doubts about his new partner, Smith being your
all-around all-cop archetype. Bristled hair, barrel chest, dark
shades and pressed uniform.

A big-dog type of guy. Not foo-foo. Macho.

Smith, 28, planned on getting a Labrador or a golden retriever when
he first proposed the idea of a drug dog to his superiors.

At the Indiana kennel where he went to choose a dog, "the trainer
said, `Now, you need to be open-minded with what I'm going to show
you,' " Smith recalls. "And he brought out Rikky.

"I said, `I can't take this. I'll be laughed at.' "

Rikky, 2, won Smith over with his skill.

As it turns out, most any sporting dog can be trained for police
work. English cockers, bred in the 19th century to fetch woodcocks,
do quite nicely.

Rikky isn't much interested in woodcocks. He's trained to find
marijuana, cocaine, crack, methamphetamine, heroin and Ecstasy.

There's plenty to find. Among state agencies, the Missouri Water
Patrol led the nation last year in citations for boating while
intoxicated. And drug use at the popular Lake of the Ozarks also is
quite prevalent and just as dangerous, Smith says.

Problem was, finding easily hidden drugs on boats wasn't easy. That's
when Smith hit on the idea of a drug dog. His superiors gave him the
OK, but didn't have the funds.

Smith solicited about $15,000 in donations from local companies for
the costs associated with buying, training and caring for Rikky. A
Laurie, Mo., veterinarian provides free health care. Among Rikky's
gear: a little doggie life preserver, which Rikky wears during night
patrols; and a cool-down vest, which he wears on especially hot days.

Up to the July 4 holiday, Rikky had been involved in four arrests
since starting work May 1. All involved marijuana, and one arrest
also included meth and Ecstasy.

His size -- and cuteness -- turned out to be an advantage after all.

On Smith's 28-foot patrol boat, a more traditional dog might be
unwieldy, to say nothing of drooly. Rikky nestles under Smith's seat,
or beats the heat below deck.

Smaller dogs provide more sniff for the money, with longer life spans
- -- and longer careers -- than their larger counterparts.

It's more pleasant boarding people's boats with a little dog less apt
than a lab or a shepherd to tear up fabric.

Then there's the undercover aspect. Unsuspecting hopheads look at
Rikky and figure that, like Johnny Depp on "21 Jump Street," he's
just too cute to be a cop.

"We'll pull people over, and they'll see `K-9' on the side of the
boat and expect a lab or a shepherd, and they see his head pop up,"
Smith said, casually steering his boat near the bacchanalian melee of
Party Cove, Rikky snoozing at his feet, waiting for the call to
action. "They'll snicker a little. Then he'll go find some drugs on
their boat."