| Garda Dog Support Unit | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Ireland |
| Agency | Garda Síochána |
| Type | Police Dog Unit |
| Role | Law enforcement |
| Website | |
| https://www.garda.ie/en/ | |
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TheGarda Dog Support Unit (Irish:Aonad Gadhar an Gharda Síochána) is a unit of theGarda Síochána, the police force ofIreland.[1]
It is part of the Operational Support Unit which provides specialist support to Gardaí nationwide. The Operational Support Unit also includes theWater Support Unit,Mounted Support Unit andAir Support Unit.
Formed in 1960, the main duties of the dog unit involve assisting inpublic order situations andsearches.
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.[2]
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.[3]
There are 19 dogs in the unit, which is based atKilmainham Garda Station, but there are also dog handlers inCork andLimerick. In July 2023, a new Garda Dog Unit was approved forSligo andLeitrim division.[4]
| Organised & Serious Crime |
|  |
|---|---|---|
| Security and Intelligence | ||
| Traffic | ||
| Other units / structure | ||
| Scandals | ||
| Other | ||
| Oversight | ||
| Associated bodies | ||
 | This dog-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
 | This article about an organisation in Ireland is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
 | This law enforcement agency article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |