The Garda Dog Support Unit () is a unit of the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

, the police force of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is part of the Support Unit which provides specialist support to Gardaí nationwide. The Operational Support Unit also includes the Water Support Unit, Mounted Support Unit and

Air Support Unit Police aviation in United Kingdom provides British police forces with an aerial support unit to assist them in pursuit, surveillance and tracking. All police aviation in England and Wales comes under the National Police Air Service (NPAS), whil ...

. Formed in 1960, the main duties of the dog unit involve assisting in

public order Public order may refer to * Public security: the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger or property damage * Public order policing: police maintenance of order ...

situations and searches. Potential Garda dogs are assessed for about 3–4 weeks and if suitable they start the training programme. It can take at least 8 weeks to train a dog to search for drugs and explosives, and up to 14 weeks to train for patrols and to search for missing persons. After the training is completed, the dog and its handler start operational duty immediately, although ongoing training is continued on a very regular basis. The dogs live in their handler's home, so they build a relationship with their handler, although the dogs understand the difference between work and off duty. On 18 October 2023, one of the dogs, named Laser, hit national headlines when it was retiring after serving more than decade in the unit. There are 19 dogs in the unit, which is based at

Kilmainham Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. History Origins Kilmainham's foundation dates ...

Garda Station, but there are also dog handlers in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

and

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

. In July 2023, a new Garda Dog Unit was approved for

Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...

and Leitrim division.

References

External links

Official site
Dog Unit Police dogs 1960 establishments in Ireland Animals in Ireland People working with dogs {{dog-stub