Summary

As the North Dakota Highway Patrol expands its bloodhound program, it has brought in Beau, a 12-week-old bloodhound puppy, as the newest recruit for difficult searches across the upper Midwest. The patrol said it uses bloodhounds to trail missing people—including children and people with dementia—as well as criminal suspects, with dogs remaining a low-tech tool even as agencies use drones and aircraft to support searches.

In his role handling Bleu, one of the patrol’s bloodhounds, Trooper Steven Mayer said bloodhounds are specifically bred to search for people. He described the dogs’ job as following scent trails that can help investigators establish a direction, rather than only reacting after people are found.

Danny Jones, executive director of the U.S. Police Canine Association, said bloodhounds are used widely in law enforcement across the country, from Maine to Florida to Texas and beyond. Jones said that even with drones and helicopters that can work ahead of a dog, agencies typically still need a bloodhound on the ground to start following a trail in a particular direction.

Mayer said bloodhounds have about 300 million scent receptors in their nose, which he said is more than humans and more than other dogs. He added that bloodhounds’ large floppy ears and skin folds help gather odor, enabling trails that sometimes continue for a week or more, including trails picked up from objects and surfaces such as a wall someone touched, dirt a person stumbled in, or vomit left on a car door.

North Dakota’s Highway Patrol began using bloodhounds about 14 years ago, moving from dual-purpose dogs toward dogs trained for specific roles including drug detection and trailing. The state force receives about 70 calls a year for its services, and it has sent teams to assist other agencies outside North Dakota, including a trip to Montana last year to help in a case involving a man suspected in the killing of four people at an Anaconda bar.

When the patrol traveled to assist in Montana, two pairs of handlers and dogs drove about 10 hours to support the search, Mayer said. He said the dogs got “fairly close” to the suspect, who was in the location where dogs indicated, and he said other requests have come from South Dakota and Utah.

Beau’s handler, Trooper Dustin Pattengale, said Beau was born in Texas and has since moved to Fargo, North Dakota’s largest city. Pattengale said Beau’s early training includes potty and kennel work, basic commands, and socializing him to different places and environments, with the handler describing scent work as a ramp-up from introducing him to scent articles to longer and more varied trails.

Pattengale said Beau will not be ready for a full or certified trail until he is about 9 months old. He also described the dog as high-drive and attentive, noting that Beau likes to work and to sniff, and said the puppy is still growing, with long ears and constant curiosity as he explores.

The patrol’s bloodhound program extends beyond North Dakota as well. Mayer said he went to Omaha, Nebraska, last year for a week to help Omaha Police train its first bloodhound, Willow, and he said Omaha previously called for bloodhounds from the Chicago area for searches. Omaha Police Sgt. Scott Warner said Willow arrived early last year and that he hopes the program develops into an asset for the region, including plans for more dogs and handlers.

Warner said finding mentors for training matters because much of the bloodhound community works through word-of-mouth and that there is no directory listing where dogs are based. He also said Willow has trailed missing people, including an elderly man on Christmas Eve, through falling darkness and difficult terrain.

North Dakota bloodhound handlers also travel to train and exchange methods, with Mayer saying he and his wife have gone to places including Hungary, Italy, South Africa and Wales. He said they charge nothing for that help, calling handlers a special kind of people who will leave family events to find strangers they have never met before.

The Highway Patrol has also leaned into public visibility for Beau, including choosing his name through a Facebook vote and posting recent videos showing him with toys and another bloodhound, Lorace, in boots. Mayer said he hopes attention on social media leads to earlier calls for assistance, adding that the more word the program can spread, the easier it is for the team to respond when they are needed.

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