A local neighbourhood stray hit the big time after being spotted at the city’s Humane Services by an RCMP Sergeant.

Luke, a Labrador retriever cross, who started his life wandering in a St. John’s neighbourhood nearly ten years ago, is enjoying a successful career with the RCMP.

Back in 2009, no one came to claim the dog after he was picked up by city staff, and his days at the Humane Services animal shelter were numbered as he was not considered a prime candidate for adoption.

That’s where Sergeant Don Bill of the RCMP comes in. Sergeant Bill was scouting for potential candidates for the specialized RCMP Police Dog Service and saw Luke’s potential because of his drive, work ethic and natural instincts to retrieve and search.

Luke entered the Narcotic Detection Dog Training course back in March of 2009 in Innisfail, Alberta, and his instincts as a specialized narcotics detection dog were so good, he completed the eleven week training program in just three weeks.

In his career, he has sniffed out over five million dollars in drugs and cash. He now lives happily with his second handler, Corporal Mike Pilgrim, is still in active duty, and on his time off enjoys walks, playing fetch and spending time playing with other dogs and even cats.