An 8-week-old female red bloodhound will help the Monroe County Sheriff's Office track lost or missing people.
The Sheriff's Office said the puppy, named Peak, is the first bloodhound K-9 in recent history.
“Bloodhounds do one thing better than any other creature -- find people who are lost, missing or hiding,” Sheriff Todd Baxter said in a statement. “We are excited to welcome Peak to our trained team of deputies, using her highly active energy and intelligence, coupled with her keen sense of smell, to assist MCSO in cases of missing persons and search and rescue.”
She's currently undergoing four to six weeks of socialized obedience training, "intertwined with and followed by several weeks of 'Hide and Seek' or 'Puppy Trails' training," the Sheriff's Office said.
Deputy Michael Ottley will train and care for Peak, and she will live with Ottley, his wife and two children and come to work with him daily.
Her name comes from the High Peaks Wilderness area of the Adirondack region where she was born, and Ottley’s love for climbing high peaks in the Adirondacks, according to the Sheriff's Office.