The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office is welcoming its newest member to the force, and she has the one credential for the job: her sense of smell.
Skye, a 10-month-old bloodhound who was nationally certified by the National Bloodhound Association, has officially joined the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit.
“Skye will be a significant asset to our K-9 Unit since her sole purpose is to locate people,” Sheriff Shaun Golden said. “Through tracking and trailing, this highly trained K-9, with a stronger sense of smell than any other breed, will assist the sheriff’s office and local police departments in apprehending criminals and locating missing persons such as children and individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.”
Skye is the first bloodhound the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office has had in several years and the only one working in law enforcement in Monmouth County, according to a press release.
She came to the agency from the Southern Pride Bloodhounds in northern New Jersey.
It is estimated that a bloodhound’s nose has 230 million olfactory smells. They are trained to track skin cells from humans. Skye and K-9 handler Kurt Kroeper trained with bloodhound instructors from the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office for 12 weeks, according to the press release.
The K-9 team then spent a week in North Carolina at the National Police Bloodhound Association, with 34 other K- 9s and handlers, where they earned national certification.
The K-9 team tracked scent in rural areas through the woods, fields, creeks, garbage, parking lots and busy roads. The team’s farthest track was more than 2 miles.
“I am grateful to the Monmouth County Sheriff‘s Office for providing Skye and me with this opportunity,” Kroeper said. “We endured a lot during those five days, but Skye’s perseverance was exceptional. She will become an outstanding member of our K-9 Unit.”
The Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office presently consists of six sheriff’s officers/ K-9 handlers and dogs, which include one tracking team, one narcotics team, two explosive detection teams, one explosive/patrol and one narcotics/patrol team.