BATAVIA, Ohio — The Clermont County Sheriff’s Office is adding an 8-week-old bloodhound puppy to its K9 unit, with the dog making the trip from a breeder in Pennsylvania to the agency’s Batavia headquarters this week.
“Our newest K9 is on her way to Batavia from Pennsylvania,” the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post, adding that more details on the puppy would follow once she arrives.
The bloodhound will join a K9 unit that currently fields five dogs, according to the sheriff’s office. Two German Shorthaired Pointers, Deborah and Buckley, work narcotics detection in the Corrections Division, while a German Shepherd named Matra handles general patrol duties. All of the office’s canines and handlers train to meet Ohio’s canine certification standards, the sheriff’s office said.
Bloodhounds have long been prized by law enforcement for their tracking ability. The breed has one of the most sensitive senses of smell of any dog and has been used to trail fugitives and missing people since the 19th century, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica — a scent-tracking specialty not currently represented among the sheriff’s office’s other dogs.
Sheriff Christopher Stratton has firsthand experience with the K9 program. Stratton, who took office in 2023 after nearly three decades with the sheriff’s office, served in the agency’s K9 unit as well as its Honor Guard and SWAT team during a decade on road patrol early in his career, according to the sheriff’s office. He was later promoted to sergeant, captain and chief deputy before being elected sheriff.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office.