Training seminar brings dozens of K9s to Louisa County

LOUISA COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - The Louisa County Sheriff’s Office is inviting bloodhounds from across the commonwealth to put their noses to the test during its K9 training seminar.

“These dogs save lives,” Lieutenant Patrick Sheridan with LCSO said Monday, March 6. “There’s no greater feeling when you can help a family find a loved one that’s lost.”

Lt. Sheridan is a K9 handler for the sheriff’s office, and is running the seminar that brought dozens of dogs to Louisa County.

“Today, we’re going to train in the morning in the urban area of the town,” Sheridan said. “Get more trails in a contaminated area, more houses, vehicles.”

The bloodhounds are given a scent to track as part of their training. They must follow their nose to find the runner without steering too far off course.

“Working with bloodhounds is starting to become kind of a dying art. Everybody’s kind of focused on patrol dogs,” Deputy Chris Kinsey said. “They [bloodhounds] are trained specifically to hunt people, and that’s our main objective is find the person we’re looking for whether it be a missing person, a murder suspect, burglary suspect, you know? It’s all about finding the person that committed the crime or the person that’s missing.”

The seminar is set to run through Wednesday, March 8.

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