Lansing, MI – The Michigan State Police have unveiled a permanent memorial to honor the canines who have died in the line of duty.
The memorial, which was fully funded with donations, is co-located alongside the Fallen Trooper Memorial on the lawn of the MSP Training Academy in Dimondale. Six canines have died in the line of duty since 1998.
The Canine Unit was established in 1960 by Trooper Richard Abbott and ‘Jocko.’ Currently, the department has 43 canine teams strategically placed throughout the state answering calls for service 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The unit handles over 7,000 requests for services annually, making it one of the largest and busiest in the country.
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*The Featured Image is of Aiko, a Netherlands-born German Shepherd, who began training in the fall of 1996 with Tpr. Joel Service at the Flint Post. Aiko was shot and killed in 1998 in the line of duty*