Winnipeg Police Service Canine Unit – Winnipeg, MB

Winnipeg Police Service: K9 Unit Facility

The Winnipeg Police Service Canine Unit operates out of a specialized facility located on Durand Road in the St. Boniface Industrial Park. Opened in 2013, this state-of-the-art building was designed specifically to meet the unique needs of the service’s working dogs and their handlers. Unlike a standard police station, this facility focuses on the training, housing, and care of the K9 team. It features 11 air-conditioned indoor kennels with attached runs, a dedicated grooming area, and a veterinary examination room. The unit plays a crucial role in operational support, deploying dogs for tracking suspects, searching for missing persons, detecting narcotics and explosives, and providing tactical assistance to the Tactical Support Team.

Training and Breeding

This facility is the heart of the WPS in-house breeding program, one of the few of its kind in Canada. The building includes a whelping kennel and a puppy run, allowing the unit to raise and train its own dogs from birth. This ensures a high standard of performance and temperament in the dogs that serve the city. The site also boasts a large community classroom and common area used for training sessions and public demonstrations. The expansive outdoor grounds are utilized for agility training and obedience drills, keeping the canine teams sharp and ready for the diverse challenges they face on the streets of Winnipeg.

Canine Memorial Garden

Adjacent to the main building is the newly established Winnipeg Police Canine Memorial. This touching tribute honours the service and sacrifice of the police dogs who have protected the city since the unit’s inception in 1971. The memorial features a life-size bronze sculpture titled ‘Forever Faithful’ and a columbarium wall containing the urns of past service dogs. A pathway lined with engraved memory stones leads to the site, offering a quiet place for handlers and the public to pay their respects to these four-legged heroes. The memorial serves as a permanent reminder of the deep bond between the officers and their canine partners.

Operational Scope

While the Durand Road facility is the home base, the K9 Unit operates city-wide, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The unit typically consists of over 20 dogs and a dozen uniformed officers. Each dog is cross-trained in multiple disciplines, making them versatile assets in crime prevention and apprehension. The facility is secure and generally not open to the public for walk-in reports; its primary purpose is operational readiness. However, the unit is active in the community, often hosting educational tours for school groups and participating in public events to showcase the capabilities of the dogs.