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Sunderland, MA—When Jaimie Ruddock glanced down at her hand, she discovered the diamond from her engagement ring was missing. She and her husband, James, had just picked up one of their dogs from a kennel stay, so they retraced their steps and searched the kennel thoroughly, but to no avail.

But James Ruddock has an advantage: as a K-9 officer with the Montague Police Department, his patrolling partner is Artie, a specially trained German Shepherd dog who can sniff out drugs, bodies, and criminals. (The partners are shown at left.) While diamonds don’t have a scent, their owners do. In this case, it was a scent Artie knows especially well: that of his “partner-in-law.” Four days after the stone went missing, he brought Artie back to the scene and gave him his marching—or, rather, sniffing—orders.

Sure enough, Artie found the diamond in less than 10 minutes. “We knew to 'trust your dog,'" Ruddock told NBC affiliate WWLP, "and we did eventually find it under some thick grass. It was very surreal and a pretty emotional moment.”

James and Jaimie Ruddock

In addition to his work as one of two four-legged canine officers on the Montague police force, Artie is somewhat of a community ambassador. He’s a great favorite with schoolchildren and even has his own Facebook page.

Watch a video of Artie in action here.