All 29 Michigan State Police (MSP) canines now have Global Positioning System (GPS) collars to help with the search and retrieval of not only the canines themselves if they are lost, but also the potential tracking of an injured canine handler.
“In November last year, the department lost its first canine during a search,” said Sgt. David Yount, commander of the MSP Canine Unit. “If we are in this situation again, the GPS collars will provide an efficient way to track and retrieve a missing canine.”
The GPS units, which cost approximately $5,000 to outfit the entire Canine Unit, were purchased with donated funds.
MSP canine teams are stationed statewide to provide assistance with tracking criminal suspects, locating lost or missing persons, conducting building searches, and locating stolen property or articles discarded by criminal suspects. Additionally, each dog is trained in a second area of expertise, either explosives detection, narcotics detection, cadaver detection, or accelerants detection.