Behind the Badge: Celebrating New York's Heroic K-9 Dunn

The New York State Police K-9 Unit was introduced in 1975. Troopers started with 3 canines trained to detect explosives in preparation for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. Over the next 50 years the unit has grown to more than 90 K-9 officers.

Today we say goodbye to one of those K-9 heroes. The New York State Police announced that Friday March 28, 2025 will be the final day of service for Trooper K-9 Dunn.

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New York State Trooper K-9 Dunn served the public for the past 7 years. In that time K-9 Dunn was part of Troop K's narcotics unit as a partner to Trooper Edward E. Reiser. Here are some of their highlights:

Hundreds of seizures of illegal firearms
Hundreds of seizures of large quantities of narcotics
Multiple fugitive apprehensions
Over $10 million in narcotic-related U.S. currency recovered

Troopers.ny.gov

New York State Trooper K-9 Dunn is named after 33-year-veteran Trooper Vincent A. Dunn. Mr. Dunn was found behind the wheel of his State Police Cruiser in 1932 following a crash. Dunn died several hours later at a hospital in Danbury, CT.

As New York State Trooper K-9 Dunn retires, K-9 Vinn, also named after Trooper Vincent A. Dunn, will be following in K-9 Dunn's paw prints. Thank you for your service K-9 Dunn.

troopers.ny.gov

New York State Police Canine Unit

Here is a partial list of the New York State Police K9 Unit. This division was created in 1975. The original three canines were put into service as explosives detection canines in preparation for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York.

New York State Police canines are named in honor of the men and women of the state police who have died in the line of duty.

Gallery Credit: Karolyi