A 3-year-old Florida boy with autism went missing and deputies searched for hours without any success. They released their bloodhounds, and less than 30 minutes later, the boy was found.
'Release the hounds' is a famous line on 'The Simpsons' but you never see them save anyone or actually do anything. These police hounds saved a special needs child!
Now after this story and news cycle takes over headlines, I wonder how many police departments will add bloodhounds.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office posted the below pics on Facebook. I'd love to know from the deputy why they wait to use the dogs rather than just sending them out first. I'm sure there is a really good reason and tons of protocol but those dogs are just so fast!
"The child unknowingly opened a locked door and wandered into a large wooded area near the home. After the immediate search of the area was unsuccessful, Sheriff's Bloodhounds arrived on scene to assist."
"The bloodhounds took their handlers approximately 200 yards into an extremely wooded and muddy area. They located the child huddled tightly under a heavy brush area where he was immediately removed and taken to awaiting EMS personnel. The photo of Deputy Lenzo carrying the 3-year-old out of the woods speaks volumes as to the seriousness of the incident."
Within the one year, these bloodhounds have been part of the program they have located 9 individuals! These include missing senior citizens, criminals on the run, and missing children.
These dogs are incredible! Those noses!
The police officers (and other volunteers) were out there for two hours with no luck and zero leads before they sent those dogs out. Thank goodness the child was found unharmed with just a few scratches.
What do you think of these teams of bloodhounds? We've written a lot about hounds this week and we love this happy ending!
This 3-year-old boy is so lucky to walk away from this with only a few bug bites. You read about missing children that wander off in the woods and (in Florida too where I'm sure there are far worse things...alligators) aren't found for days. This missing boy was found in a couple of hours. This is such a great story!
Do you live with a hound? Please leave a comment and let us know what you did!
This post was originally published on September 18, 2019.
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