DuPage County K-9 recruit begins rigorous training program to help locate people

DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. - There’s a new member of the DuPage County Sheriff’s Department, and he’s just 13-weeks-old. But within months, he should be helping save lives.

Jake is a bloodhound that is being trained to perform one of the most important duties of a police agency - finding people.

On Monday, trainers performed some simple exercises with Jake in the courtyard of the DuPage County law enforcement complex, giving the dog a scent article.

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On the command "find", Jake takes off, his nose to the ground, and locates the officer who was wearing that article.

"And we have a puppy so we're just making it fun. It's playing the game of hide and seek. It will progress from little short trails, happy trails and it will introduce things that are a little more complex, distance, unknowns, blind hides," said Deputy Ryan Culver.

"It might be dementia. It might be autism, Alzheimer’s or could even be a suspect in a high caliber crime. We call that the blue wave, where we've got to take all of our resources and put it into finding a person very quickly before something bad happens," said Sheriff Jim Mendrick.

And Jake’s name carries special significance. He is named after Jacob Keltner, an officer who was shot and killed three years ago while serving a search warrant. Keltner’s family has long ties to DuPage County law enforcement.

Jake is replacing another bloodhound, Praise, who died earlier this year after 10 years of service to DuPage County sheriffs.