Bob Eden wants to help take a bite out of crime, literally.

A veteran K9 cop and all-around dog lover, Eden runs a Web site, policek9.com, both for professional police dog handlers and for curious civilians with an interest in the four-footed crime fighters.

"For most of their history K9 units have been a mystery to the general public," says Eden, who served as a K9 officer with the police department in Delta, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver. "I wanted to educate people and put their work in a professional light."

His 7-year-old site started as an offshoot of his consulting firm, Eden and Ney Associates Inc., which helps police departments improve their dog safety. But the site now attracts a diverse audience.

Many of these people just come to chat, judging by the popularity of the message boards. A few of the online forums are for law enforcement only, but the rest are open to everyone. And the topics range from specific training methods, like "hard surface tracking," to life as a K9 officer. One officer wanted to know if it was ok to have pet dogs in the same home as a police dog. Another complained that his typically well-behaved dog barked whenever someone took his spot in the front seat of the police cruiser. Yet another sought advice on how to handle a female dog that ate all its puppies.

The growing use of K9 units has raised a host of legal issues. Does a dog need a search warrant to sniff someone's property? What are the rules for a "scent discriminate lineup" — when a dog uses its sense of smell to pick out the guilty party? These and other questions are answered in a special section on canine case law, which spells out laws, as well as specific cases dealing with canine police work and statues that give stiffer sentences to those who kill or injure a police dog on duty.

Ever wonder what police canine work is like in Singapore? PoliceK9.com offers links to K9 associations and agencies throughout the world. There are also links to veterinarians, trainers and personal homepages of dogs and their handlers.

And the online store has products that would make any tail wag. Try the K9 Trauma Care Kit, K9 Activity Software, or a variety of training manuals. There are even wall posters for the dog owner who knows the value of good PR.

But Eden's site isn't all so upbeat. Like officers, police dogs sometimes risk their lives at work, and not all make it home alive. One such dog was K9 Atlas of Miami. Atlas had only been doing police work for three months when he and his partner, Wayne Cooper, were dispatched to a call in which a suspect was fleeing a carjacking. When they caught up to the suspect, the man shot Atlas in the stomach with a black Smith and Wesson revolver. He then fired at Cooper but missed, according to a Miami Herald story Eden posted on his "Valor" page, which includes tributes sent in by officers who have lost their canine partners.

Atlas died shortly after at Knowles Animal Hospital, and the suspect was captured and charged with felonious killing of a police dog, attempted murder of a police officer, among other charges.

Eden said stories like these make some people squeamish.

"We've had about three e-mails from people who think it's inhumane to make dogs do police work because they don't have a choice, but the dogs really love what they're doing and become like family to the officers," said Eden. "I've seen hard-nosed guys cry like babies when they lose a dog."

Despite the hardships the dogs can face, Eden said police dog units are thriving. A need for explosive sniffing dogs after the events of Sept. 11, along with an ever-increasing drug trade, have made K9 units a valuable resource even in smaller police departments, he says.

"There isn't a machine invented today that can do what these dogs do in terms of what they can detect," Eden said. "Without them police work would be much harder to do."

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