Full Notification

Criminals beware!  “Tracker” a bloodhound who is just eight weeks old joined the ranks of Sheriff’s Office and will be the first Bloodhound in the history of Clayton County law-enforcement.  Imported from Europe, “Tracker” has a rich bloodline in tracking.  Both her mother and father were tracking dogs in Europe, and she has older siblings who track for law-enforcement around the world.

“That one right there, I want him” is what Sheriff Victor Hill said when lead K-9 Deputy Griffin FaceTimed the Sheriff live to show him the litter they had to pick from.  “Tracker” immediately stood out to the Sheriff as being aggressive and lively separating herself from the herd.  “That is not a him sir, that’s a her” Deputy Griffin replied as the Sheriff could hear laughter in the background over FaceTime live.  “Ok I want her” replied the Sheriff, and at that moment, “Tracker” was hired as a Clayton County Sheriff’s Deputy!  

Bloodhounds are legendary for their tracking abilities.  Often called a nose with a dog attached, the bloodhound is so adept at scent tracking its trailing results is admissible evidence in a court of law.  Its outstanding ability to read terrain with its nose is primarily due to a large, ultrasensitive set of scent membranes that allows the dog to distinguish smells at least a thousand times better. Bloodhounds only need to be given the scent from piece of clothing or perhaps where the suspect sat.  Once they lock into a scent it’s done.  When a bloodhound sniffs a scent article (a piece of clothing or item touched only by the subject), air rushes through its nasal cavity and chemical vapors — or odors — lodge in the mucus and bombard the dog’s scent receptors. Chemical signals are then sent to the olfactory bulb, the part of the brain that analyzes smells, and an “odor image” is created. For the dog, this image is far more detailed than a photograph is for a human. Using the odor image as a reference, the bloodhound is able to locate a subject’s trail, which is made up of a chemical cocktail of scents including breath, sweat vapor, and skin rafts. Once the bloodhound identifies the trail, it will not divert its attention despite being assailed by a multitude of other odors. Only when the dog finds the source of the scent or reaches the end of the trail will it relent. So potent is the drive to track, bloodhounds have been known to stick to a trail for more than 130 miles.

“Tracker” will not just track criminals for the Sheriff, she will also be on hand to help him find lost children, or missing elderly citizens who may have wandered off because of dementia.  “Tracker” will not hit the road for at least 6 to 8 months while she grows and receive the best in training.   “Tracker” is already required to track for her food everyday.  

Deputy “Tracker” met her her new boss last week, and as you can see from the pictures below, she has already shown the Sheriff that she is anxious to get to work!  We look forward to reporting “Tracker’s” future law-enforcement exploits when she officially begins her career of hunting bad guys for the Sheriff!

The Clayton County Sheriff's Office

                              Motto

"We defend those who cannot defend themselves"

                          Core Values

                Strength~Honor~Discipline 

                            Mission

To proactively fight and reduce crime by prevention and control.