The Staff Sergeant for Steinbach RCMP says they have some reinforcements coming from British Columbia.

Harold Laninga says for some time now they have been working on obtaining a police service dog. Laninga says Enzo will be arriving shortly.

According to Laninga, Constable Garfield Henderson is being transferred to Steinbach from Cowichan, which is near Vancouver. Henderson will be coming with Enzo, a four year old German Shepherd.

Enzo will be the sixth police service dog in the division; there are two in each district. Steinbach is a part of Manitoba East District and Laninga says to the best of his knowledge, this is the first time a police service dog has ever been stationed in Steinbach.

"The area around us is rapidly growing and I think it's recognized that a police service dog can provide services that are going to be very beneficial to not only the detachment but I think our citizens," notes Laninga.

Even though Enzo will call the RCMP detachment home, the dog will work provincially and could be called into service anywhere in Manitoba. However, the primary focus will be in Steinbach, Sprague, Emerson, Morris and St. Pierre.

Laninga says police service dogs typically have two profiles; they can either be explosive dogs or drug dogs. He notes an explosive dog isn't really needed in Steinbach and so Enzo will be helping with drug searches and files of that nature. The dog can also assist with missing persons or to help locate criminal suspects.

"This will give us an opportunity to track that person," notes Laninga. "I'm very excited about what this is going to bring to our detachment and just add to our skill set."

Laninga says there won't be a shortage of work for Enzo. He says not only will the dog be operational, but a big part of what police service dogs do involves training protocols. But Laninga says there are numerous times that the Steinbach detachment has used a police service dog or could have used a police service dog. Currently, when needed, they bring in a dog from Selkirk.

"This is going to afford us the opportunity to have a dog immediately right here in Steinbach and response time will be very quick and that can only lead to its success," says Laninga.