“This is the biggest our unit has ever been,” said Sgt. Mike Fridley, the handler of Niko, a 9-year-old Belgian Malinois.

Niko is a multi-purpose working dog who is certified in narcotics detection, tracking and apprehension.

Fridley previously served as a military police K-9 handler in the U.S. Marine Corps and said he always wanted to become a handler in civilian law enforcement.

Fridley went to then-Sheriff Bill Laird and requested a dog.

“He said, ‘Mike, I’ll tell you what. If you go out and raise the money for it, we’ll get you a dog,’” Fridley said.

He did just that.

“I went out to the public — the Fayette County Board of Education, the park service, Elkem Metals, Dr. Millie Peterson ... just all over Fayette County, and I raised over $27,000.

“I came back in a few days and said, ‘Sheriff, I have the money. I’m ready to get a dog.’ He couldn’t believe it. That’s how much the public helped in getting our K-9 unit started.”

Fridley bought Niko at Augusta K-9 in Virginia. He stayed there for 8 to 10 weeks to train with his new dog.

“I showed up down there and the guy said here’s two dogs,” he explained. “You start out with the two, and you see who you work best with.”

Paired with a German shepherd and Belgian Malinois, Fridley said, “The shepherd and I got along well, but me and Niko were meant to be.”

The Belgian, whom Fridley calls a regular member of his family, has been Fridley’s partner in crime-fighting for the last nine years.

“We hit it right off, went through our schooling and got certified. We’ve been on the road ever since.”

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Niko, who’s 9 years old, has been a shining light for Fayette County ever since day one.

In some of his larger finds, he’s found a half kilo of cocaine, which was packaged with a Mexican Mafia stamp on it, and 48 pounds of marijuana.

“The marijuana was wrapped in cellophane with orange gel in it. They were trying to hide the scent, but it didn’t deter Niko. He about ate through the box ... We’ve found a lot of dope,” Fridley said.

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Niko is also first-class when it comes to tracking and apprehensions.

“I’ve done a lot of good tracks. I’ve found bad guys, lost people.”

Several months ago. Niko was used at Pine Knoll Apartments where a man wanted in New Jersey was hiding. After the man exited a back door and refused to comply with police commands, Niko was released, and he successfully apprehended the man, who was said to be armed and dangerous.

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“These dogs live to work. They live to make you happy,” Fridley said.

“I start up my cruiser in the morning and I go down and let him out of the kennel. He runs from his gate to the car and jumps in back. By the time I get around front, he’s sitting there, like ‘where have you been, dad.’ It’s time to go to work. And he’ll pace the whole time.”

Today, Niko’s one of the oldest dogs in the department.

Police dogs typically retire at 8 to 10 years, but Fridley says he doesn’t want to jinx it by predicting how much longer Niko will work.

“Niko hasn’t lost a step yet. He’s still got a high drive. He loves going to work. I’ll keep him as long as I can and as long as he’s able to get into the cruiser and go to work.”

Sheriff Steve Kessler, whom Fridley says is 100 percent supportive of the K-9 unit, has made arrangements so that each of the handlers can keep their dog, when it retires.

“They’re your partner. They’re with you at all times,” Fridley said. “They’re very protective of their handlers — especially our dual purpose dogs.”

Fridley and Niko were picked as K-9 officer of the year at this year’s Fraternal Order of Police awards ceremony.

“That was humbling,” Fridley said.

“It was for making apprehensions, finding drugs. He’s part of our family. He is our family. I call him my son.”

— E-mail: jayres@register-herald.com´