OPP Celebrate 50 Years Of Canine Policing

Unit Has Become Indispensable

Ontario Provincial Police are celebrating 50 years of  canine patrols today. The Unit was formed in 1965 when three teams of police officer and dog were deployed to help track criminals. Today, the OPP has 36 canine partners and 31 handlers that have averaged 1200 tracks a year for the last five years. Some of them have had specialized training and are used for detecting narcotics, finding dead bodies and searching for explosives. Officers and their dogs have also tracked hundreds of lost persons. An outdoor celebration is taking place this afternoon at 1495 Muskoka Road North in Gravenhurst.