RCMP dog handler Const. Aaron Sheedy, 33, and his drug-sniffing partner, Memphis, a three-year-old black Labrabador retriever, search for dope on a Westjet plane being readied for takeoff at Pearson Airport in Toronto.

Memphis dashes through the aisle of the empty Boeing 737 as Sheedy grips her leash.

She’s sniffing for dope hidden in the cabin, under panelling or in the toilet area. It takes Memphis about 20 minutes to clear the jet for drugs.

“Memphis knows exactly what she’s searching for,” Sheedy says, explaining Memphis will sit beside a seat if she detects an odour.

The flight to Las Vegas with 136 passengers is declared free of drugs and it’s cleared for liftoff.

Memphis is credited for making more than $1 million in seizures at the airport in two years of service. Not bad for a California pup that was given up at birth.

Earlier that same day, she intercepted 10 kilos of marijuana that was in a bag on a domestic flight. That seizure led to a B.C. man being arrested. He is before the courts.

“We spend about 90 per cent of our time at the airport because there’s so much movement with people and packages,” Sheedy says.

Up to 12 canine law- enforcers are on-duty at Pearson at any time and their keen sense of smell have led to the arrests of dozens of criminals who try to outwit them to smuggle contraband.

It costs about $20,000 each to train these dogs, who are paired with handlers of the RCMP, Peel Regional Police, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.

The teams examine passengers and jets to find not only drugs and explosives, but food, plant life, currency, firearms, weapons and ammunition.

“The dogs are part of our families,” says CBSA dogmaster Tom Gritter. “Most masters keep their dogs when they’re retired.”