Hyderabad: National Canine Bravery Awards to be presented at HyCan 2025

Nominations received from SSB, CISF, BSF, NSG, Telangana State Police and other law-enforcement agencies. India is home to nearly 6500  trained working dogs that serve as part of dog squads in the police or armed forces.

Hyderabad: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, HyCan 2025, will host the National Canine Bravery Awards, jointly organised by the RRU Commando K9 Academy and the Hyderabad Canine Club. The National Canine Bravery Awards, also known as “K9 Heroes,” is a celebration of dogs that have displayed extraordinary courage.

The event will be held on November 8 and 9 in Hydrabad, to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Nominations for the awards were received from SSB, CISF, BSF, NSG, Telangana State Police, and other law-enforcement agencies across India. “It will be a landmark event for K9 units and the security forces,” the organisers said in a press release here on Friday.

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Entries from Central and State Police K9 units are being reviewed, and selected stories of canine heroism will be featured in HyMag, the official publication of HyCan 2025. Two or three exemplary K9s will be conferred with the National Canine Bravery Award in the presence of senior police officials, CAPF representatives, and dignitaries.

The term K9 refers to trained working dogs that serve as part of dog squads in the police or armed forces. These elite dogs are trained to detect explosives, narcotics, or weapons, track criminals or missing persons, guard sensitive installations and assist in disaster rescue operations. In India, many police and paramilitary forces have dedicated K9 divisions —CISF K9 Unit guards airports and critical installations.  NSG K9 Squad supports elite counter-terrorism operations. CRPF, BSF and SSB K9 Units serve in border and anti-insurgency zones.  RRU Commando K9 Academy trains K9 handlers and service dogs professionally.

According to official and industry sources, the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) collectively maintain nearly 4,000 Police Service K9s (PSKs) across India.

Of these 1,500 dogs are with CRPF, 700 with CISF, and 100 with NSG. The Telangana State Police canine squad alone has around 150 dogs of various breeds. Across all state police forces, an earlier report cited 2,365 dogs (1,516 sniffers + 849 trackers), reflecting the growing scale and importance of K9 deployment nationwide.