The United States Park Police Canine Unit was established in 1959, the first in the Washington, DC, area. Two years earlier, Chief Stewart sent Sgt. Alfred Beye to the  Royal Canadian Mounted Police Training Kennel in Nova Scotia, Canada. Sgt. Beye then trained with the Baltimore City Police Canine Unit and returned to train our first canines.

The first handlers were members of the Horse Mounted Unit. They trained each dog in different language commands, so that others could not control them. These included Spanish-Indian, German and Japanese. Once they trained the dogs, they would trot along next to the Horse Mounted handler while he patrolled the horse trails. Eventually, the Force only assigned the canine handler the duties of working with a trained dog. By the early 70's, only 1 canine team remained.

The Canine Unit is specifically trained for drug and explosives detection. This special unit also provides search and rescue services and assists in securing areas prior to the arrival of the President, Vice President, and visiting Heads of State. In 1974 the Force added the first explosives detector dogs. Also in the mid 1970s, the Force trained the first narcotics detector dog teams. Over the years the canine unit has moved between the Patrol Branch and the Special Forces Branch, to which it is currently assigned. The Force currently has a number of canines which are assigned in WDC as patrol dogs. Several of these dogs are also cross-trained in narcotics detection. The Force also has officers and canines assigned as explosives detector teams in WDC. The Force has a number of dog teams assigned in the New York Field Office and the San Francisco Field Office.