County police welcomes new addition
A trained bloodhound can cost up to $12,000, but the county police just received one as a donation.
“An email from the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police first alerted Colonel Katz, Chesterfield County police chief, to the possibility of the bloodhound donation,” said Elizabeth Caroon, county police public information coordinator. “He passed it on, other department members got the ball rolling and one of our captains contacted the breeder.”
Rudy’s main purpose will be searches for missing persons, especially children.
“The department looked into becoming partners with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Missing Kids Readiness Program. The work toward this partnership (which isn’t quite official yet, but is close) has included NCMEC training for department members.” Katz continued.
Katz confirmed: “The police department exists for four main reasons – our why’s – and everything we do goes back to those. They are:
1. Preservation of human life
2. Protection of the vulnerable
3. Establishment of problem-solving partnerships
4. Procurement, development and retention an increasingly talented workforce.
“Our strategic partnership with NCMEC responds to three of our four why’s: preservation of human life, protection of the vulnerable, establishment of problem-solving partnerships.”
“Rudy is not the department’s first bloodhound, but he is the first bloodhound we have had in a long time,” Caroon said.
With the addition of Rudy, the K9 Section now has 12 teams.
The dogs stay with their handlers all the time and have special kennels at their handlers’ homes.
“Adding Rudy to our team and forging a partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children are just a few in a series of strategic steps we are taking in our continual pursuit to meet the emerging needs in our community.” Katz said.
