PHOTOS: Check Out New York State’s First Police Dogs

It's been nearly 100 years since the New York State Police first used bloodhounds for search and rescue operations, and they recently shared some adorable (and historic) photos of some of the trailblazing dogs.

Police K9s are in use across the Hudson Valley, and help law enforcement with everything from detecting drugs and bombs to finding missing people. While many of the training techniques have evolved over the decades, photos show that the dogs themselves have remained largely the same.

Throwback Photos of New York State Police Bloodhounds

The throwback photos recently shared by the NYSP show one of the original New York State Police bloodhound teams, with the adorable dogs posing with what appears to be their handler (below). The photos are startlingly similar to a much more recent addition to a Hudson Valley law enforcement agency.

The History of Bloodhounds

Astoundingly, bloodhounds can trace their history back more than 1,000 years. The American Bloodhound Club shares that current bloodlines may have started in 7th-century France, with dogs bred by a monk named Hubert (who later became the patron saint of hunters). Quite recently, a modern-day bloodhound joined the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office (below).

Present-Day Police Bloodhounds in the Hudson Valley

Looking at a side-by-side of NYSP bloodhounds in the 1930s compared to the DCSO's 2023 addition (below), it's difficult to find any meaningful differences between the two. The biggest difference of modern K9 teams as a whole may be the additional use of several other dog breeds.

While the most stereotypical breed of police dog may be a German Sheppard or Belgian Malinois, other dogs, including labs and even mixed breed K9s, have been added to law enforcement agencies across the Hudson Valley. Meet the Orange County Sheriff Office's K9 team below.