Meet Eddie, the crime-fighting canine

“He’s my buddy. He’s like the best friend a person could ever have.”

Sgt. Kent MacInnis and his four-legged bomb-detecting dog Eddie are a new crime-fighting duo based in East St. Paul. 

By Austin Grabish, The Selkirk Record

A new crime-fighting duo has set up shop in East St. Paul, and the six-legged team has already been kept busy on their four paws and two feet. 

Eddie, a three-year-old German Shepherd, along with partner Sgt. Kent MacInnis, transferred from Dauphin to the RCMP’s East St. Paul detachment in June. 

The dog is one of eight crime-fighting canines Manitoba Mounties have on their roster, and is the police force’s only Manitoba-based dog that specializes in finding bombs.

His nose has been put to good use recently – responding to calls of potential explosives and locating a missing person, all since coming to East St. Paul. 

Together with MacInnis, the duo covers the entire Eastern region of Manitoba right up to the Ontario border. The two also respond to calls in Saskatchewan as needed.

“It’s a large service area,” said MacInnis, who is the non-commissioned officer in charge of eight police dogs in Manitoba. 

The dogs are all trained to track suspects, missing persons, search for evidence, and some like Eddie, can even make arrests. 

“They’re a vital tool in police work,” MacInnis said. 

Eddie takes all of his direction from MacInnis and is trained to detect threats against his partner.

He comes across as playful, but on just one command from MacInnis, Eddie will turn around and apprehend a suspect by biting if needed.

“Dad what do you want me to do,” MacInnis says his dog asks.

Eddie, 3, is the RCMP's only bomb detecting dog in Manitoba.

“When he comes out of his kennel he’s always trained to look to work.”

Eddie spends day-in and day-out with MacInnis and the two live together. “He’s my buddy. He’s like the best friend a person could ever have,” MacInnis said.

Yet, the dog isn’t a pet to MacInnis. “He is my partner.” 

“He’s always looking to work and that’s the distinction as opposed to a pet that can lay down and lay beside you on the couch. My dog will not do that,” he said. 

MacInnis said even during playtime outside the dog wants to work, and that’s the result of rigorous training he has undertaken since he was a pup.

Chosen because of his good health, learning ability, and drive to work, Eddie has had a successful first 15 months on the force since being sworn in last March. 

His success is credited in part to his former four-legged mentor Rev, who was MacInnis’ first police dog.

He was put down in 2013 after being badly injured in a car crash. MacInnis and Rev were left in critical condition after being T-boned near Saskatchewan while driving home to Manitoba from a conference in Edmonton. 

Eddie was in the car at the time of the crash, but survived. 

 -- First published in the Selkirk Record print edition July 23 2015 p.14