Bloodhounds Train at Pitt-Bradford
Story and Photos By
Kimberly Marcott Weinberg
Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing
3-year-old bloodhound Lucy and her handler, Karl Allen of Lexington, S.C., and NPBA instructor S.L. “Buck” Garner of Louisa, Va., are participating in the organization's spring seminar. In the first three photos, Lucy is trying to find Garner. Below, she has found him and is receiving lavish praise from Garner and Allen. These photos were taken Wednesday morning along the West Branch of the Tunungwant Creek on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
Members of the National Police Bloodhound Association brought their dogs to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford this week for field training as part of the organization’s spring seminar.
In total, about 50 dogs and their handlers from around the United States are attending the spring training seminar in nearby Allegany (N.Y.) State Park. The seminar is hosted by the Cattaraugus County (N.Y.) Sheriff’s Department.
Handlers have been training their dogs in rural and town settings in surrounding communities. On Tuesday and Wednesday, they brought their dogs to campus, taking advantage of the Richard E. McDowell Community Trail and the West Branch of the Tunungwant Creek, which flows through campus.
“This stuff is invaluable,” trainer Darren Prochaska of the Joliet (Ill.) Police Department said of the field training. Prochaska is working with his first bloodhound and values the chance to work with experienced handlers like Lt. S.L. “Buck” Garner, a detective with the Louisa County (Va.) Sheriff’s Department now working with his ninth bloodhound, Chess.
“These guys give you so much information your head starts to spin,” Prochaska said of the instructors.
They can also lay down a pretty mean trail.
For Wednesday morning’s training, Garner laid down a tricky scenario meant to simulate a situation in which someone is locked in the trunk of a car.
After parking near the creek on campus, he walked along the creek, leaving a few bits of clothing early on along the way to give both dog and handler some clues.
But then he abruptly turned around, doubled back and crawled in the back of his truck – in his own dog’s empty crate.
For 3-year-old Lucy and her handler, Karl Allen, a recently retired police officer from Lancaster, S.C., who now works with Lucy on a freelance basis, it was a challenge. After tracing the path back to the truck, Lucy worked in circles in the area of the truck until she finally keyed in on Garner.
The members say they like the challenging situations offered by the training, including realistic distractions such as campus construction and pedestrians and bicyclists along the community trail.
The association has been training at Pitt-Bradford as part of the spring seminar for more than five years.
Kimberly Marcott Weinberg
Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing
3-year-old bloodhound Lucy and her handler, Karl Allen of Lexington, S.C., and NPBA instructor S.L. “Buck” Garner of Louisa, Va., are participating in the organization's spring seminar. In the first three photos, Lucy is trying to find Garner. Below, she has found him and is receiving lavish praise from Garner and Allen. These photos were taken Wednesday morning along the West Branch of the Tunungwant Creek on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.
Members of the National Police Bloodhound Association brought their dogs to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford this week for field training as part of the organization’s spring seminar.
In total, about 50 dogs and their handlers from around the United States are attending the spring training seminar in nearby Allegany (N.Y.) State Park. The seminar is hosted by the Cattaraugus County (N.Y.) Sheriff’s Department.
Handlers have been training their dogs in rural and town settings in surrounding communities. On Tuesday and Wednesday, they brought their dogs to campus, taking advantage of the Richard E. McDowell Community Trail and the West Branch of the Tunungwant Creek, which flows through campus.
“This stuff is invaluable,” trainer Darren Prochaska of the Joliet (Ill.) Police Department said of the field training. Prochaska is working with his first bloodhound and values the chance to work with experienced handlers like Lt. S.L. “Buck” Garner, a detective with the Louisa County (Va.) Sheriff’s Department now working with his ninth bloodhound, Chess.
“These guys give you so much information your head starts to spin,” Prochaska said of the instructors.
They can also lay down a pretty mean trail.
For Wednesday morning’s training, Garner laid down a tricky scenario meant to simulate a situation in which someone is locked in the trunk of a car.
After parking near the creek on campus, he walked along the creek, leaving a few bits of clothing early on along the way to give both dog and handler some clues.
But then he abruptly turned around, doubled back and crawled in the back of his truck – in his own dog’s empty crate.
For 3-year-old Lucy and her handler, Karl Allen, a recently retired police officer from Lancaster, S.C., who now works with Lucy on a freelance basis, it was a challenge. After tracing the path back to the truck, Lucy worked in circles in the area of the truck until she finally keyed in on Garner.
The members say they like the challenging situations offered by the training, including realistic distractions such as campus construction and pedestrians and bicyclists along the community trail.
The association has been training at Pitt-Bradford as part of the spring seminar for more than five years.
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