Graduates of the Michigan State Police 2025 Basic Canine School were announced on Friday, joining the ranks of MSP Troopers across the state. (Photo courtesy of MSP)

LANSING — The Michigan State Police announced that four new canine teams and three replacement teams have graduated from the MSP 2025 Basic Canine School on Friday.

As this graduating class joins the ranks of MSP officers, the MSP has 42 canine teams placed throughout the state, whose handlers answer service calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The unit collectively has 61 canines and handles more than 6,100 requests for service annually, making the canine unit one of the largest and busiest in the country.

“Our canine teams provide an invaluable service to our police partners and the communities we protect,” said Col. James F. Grady II, director of the MSP, in a press release. “They cover every corner of our state, whenever the need arises, helping locate missing and vulnerable individuals, finding firearms used to commit crimes and taking drugs off the streets.”

Basic Canine School is a 14-week intensive training program conducted by in-house veteran MSP Canine Unit members. Handlers receive more than 500 hours of instruction. Canine teams covered more than 100 miles on foot as they received training in various disciplines including tracking, narcotics detection, building searches, area searches, property searches, obedience, and aggression.

Established in 1960, nearly all of the canines in the MSP Canine Unit are German Shepherds, due to the breed’s ability to handle the various functions and stress with intelligent problem-solving abilities and a high work drive. The unit provides services in firearm, cyber, explosive, accelerant and cadaver detection, as well as the tactical entry dog program, which provides services to the MSP Emergency Support Team.

The following graduates and their handlers will be stationed across the state:

• Trooper Luke Shafer and Koda at the Tri-City Post

• Trooper Brendan Gute and Deke at the Cadillac Post

• Trooper Michael Clemons and Ruze at the Lakeview Post

• Trooper Austin Taylor and Kilo at the Alpena Post

• Trooper Dieter Kochan and Roy at the Calumet Post

• Trooper Benjamin Sonstrom and Zorro at the Second District Headquarters

• Trooper Adam Whited and Fenrir at the Houghton Lake Post

More information about the MSP Canine Unit can be found online at michigan.gov/msp/divisions/spec-ops/inside-sod/canine-unit.