Officer Dennis Alva has been a K-9 Handler for the past three years.  Officer Alva and Rik have been involved in capturing numerous dangerous suspects wanted for violent crimes.  Rik has also located thousands of dollars worth of illegal drugs as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug money.

Rik is a five year old Belgian Malinois born in Holland.  Officer Alva had to learn a foreign language in order to give Rik commands.  The two are continually training in the areas of suspect apprehension and narcotic detection.  Officer Alva and Rik are current members of the California Narcotic Canine Association.  In order to obtain a membership, the team had to locate five dangerous drugs hidden in buildings and vehicles.  Officer Alva and Rik were one of four canine teams that successfully located all of the hidden drugs out of over fifty canine teams who tested at event.

Officer Alva and Rik are also members of the Regional SWAT team known as FSET.  The City of Irwindale joined with the cities of Glendora, Monrovia, La Verne and San Marino provide over thirty members specially trained as a SWAT unit.  In this capacity, they are exposed to hostage or barricaded incidents when the suspect has the possibility of being armed or is a significant threat to the lives and safety of the public.  The are also prepared in suicide intervention of a distraught person, as well as initiating high risk search and arrest warrants.