MEET THE BASE NARCOTIC DETECTION TEAM

CFB Esquimalt is home to a uniquely trained drug detection
team.

For the past four years, military policeman MCpl Bernie Parker has
been joined in loyal partnership with Roxie, a fiveyear-old Chocolate
Lab, whose keen sense of smell paired with proper police dog training
helps the base better combat the presence of drugs.

For Roxie, sniffing for drugs is a game, and she's an expert at
it.

"We are the first and only single profile narcotic detection dog team
ever employed in the Canadian Forces," said MCpl Parker.

Only three military police dog teams exist in the country, but the
other two use German Shepherd general duty patrol dogs, cross trained
in narcotics.

On March 17 about 45 students seated in a theatre style classroom at
Pacific Fleet School listened to MCpl Parker speak on the dangers of
drugs and why the Canadian Forces employ the zero tolerance policy.

About once a month he speaks to new recruits and different units on
base about drugs and explains his and Roxie's role.

"Part of our training as a drug dog team is for me to recognize and
read Roxie's body language," he explained. "When she finds the source
of a narcotic odour, her tail will become rigid, takes deep
inhalations and does a sharp sit. This is my alert."

To demonstrate Roxie's sharp sniffing abilities, he opened a practice
training kit containing a variety of drugs and hid about nine grams of
cocaine in an overhead projector at the front of the classroom.

Then he let Roxie into the class to demonstrate her
skills.

When the door opened, she immediately ran ahead of him and sat down in
front of the baited projector waiting for her handler to retrieve the
drugs.

Once he did, he took a ball out of his pocket and rewarded Roxie with
a game of fetch.

"Labs live and work for fun," he explained. "Her reward is playing
with this ball and we only play with this ball when she's found drugs."

Roxie's training began when she was a puppy. She was bred for police
work in Prince George at Ness Lake Retrievers. The majority of Roxie's
siblings are employed with police departments across Canada and the
United States; Roxie's brothers work for the Victoria Police Department.

After her first year of training, she met MCpl Parker, who admits the
beginning of their working relationship was a challenge.

"At first I thought I had made a mistake taking this on," he said. "I
could be the best handler and she could be the best dog, but if we
don't work well together than we are not a team."

After several months practice and ongoing schooling from the Victoria
Police K9 unit, the team enhanced their skills and were validated
through the Integrated Canine Service.

"To stay certified each year we must pass a one day revalidation
process. It involves a series of 10 hides spread throughout buildings,
luggage and vehicles. I have to take into account vehicles, windows,
vents and how air is flowing.

It is a challenging process and I have learned to really trust Roxie
through it."

Unlike other Military Police, MCpl Parker's job isn't over when he
leaves the base.

"Living with Roxie is different than living with a pet dog," he
explains. "She's a raw dog. I don't reprimand her for getting on the
furniture. I learned in training that when you enforce boundaries you
take away the dog's fun. She's quite fragile, and because she needs to
do her job I don't get angry with her."

"I really enjoy the relationship we have and I love working with her.
It's both challenging and rewarding. Labs are a hardworking,
intelligent breed and they are brought up to have fun. At the end of
the day she just wants her toy," he said.