Connecticut State Police K9 Unit

Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection

CSP K9 Unit:

The Connecticut State Police K9 Unit trains both canine officers and human officers in the state of Connecticut.

The Connecticut State Police have had a working relationship with dogs that extends back almost to the beginning of the department. In the earliest days, the department was among the first to regularly employ bloodhounds for tracking purposes. In the '60s, the CSP began training and using german shepherds for tracking, deterrent purposes, and recovery of evidence. A special unit was established, and dogs were here to stay. Over the years, the CSP K9 unit has been on the forefront of many advances in the use of dogs in police work, including specially trained arson dogs, drug detection dogs, and body recovery dogs. CSP K9 teams are regularly called to assist throughout the state, country, and in other areas of the world. Because of their success, the K9 unit has provided training to police and other agencies the world over. There are many people who are alive today because of CSP dog teams. There are more who have had their day in the justice system.

Connecticut troopers who want to be part of the K9 unit are carefully screened to determine their suitability for the work. Being a dog handler involves much additional work, requires excellent physical fitness, and a serious commitment. It also demands an individual who can function as part of a team, and who has complete faith in the ability of the team. Dog handlers and their dogs go places where others cannot or will not. Troopers who are dog handlers are not removed from their patrol function - rather they are expected to perform all the regular duties of a trooper, and the additional responsibilities of the specialty. Once selected as a trainee dog handler, troopers attend a training class which lasts four months. They are paired with a specially selected dog, and both learn the ropes together, beginning to form the bond that will make them a team. The training includes obedience, searching and tracking, aggressive work, evidence recovery, and a rigid physical fitness regimen. When they have completed the program, they return to their troop and put their skills to work. The dogs are part of the trooper's family, living at home with them and playing with their kids. There are no "cages" in CSP cruisers - these are dogs that are completely stable and happy, with excellent obedience - not man-eaters that are kept in kennels. When the dogs are "senior", they are retired and live out their years with the trooper and his/her family. Most veteran dog handlers will say that these were the best years of their careers.