MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - It has been several centuries since the first known police dog appeared in history and the tradition is still going strong.

HOMTV's Whitney Burney spent an afternoon with Meridian Township Police Officer Andrew Tobias and Police dog, Yukon and brought back a few facts for Meridian Township residents.

The Meridian Township Police Department use the service dogs as a means for tracking, protection and even rescue. Tobias says that officers would be hindered in their abilities to effectively perform certain duties without the use of police dogs.

Tobias says that Yukon has been a service dog for about a year and a half and is only two years old. The Meridian Township Police Department receives their police dogs from a breeder in Hungary and begin training at the age of 5 months.

"Since the beginning of training, there have been maybe two days total where I was not with him," said Tobias.

Tobias said that consistency is the key to training a police dog properly and says he trains with Yukon everyday. Yukon even goes on vacation with Tobias.

Outside of his police work Yukon is a regular dog and lives with Tobias and is a part of the family.