News

Trainers unleash crime fighters

The Deputy Dogs program breeds and trains bloodhounds that are provided for free to law enforcement agencies.

By JORGE SANCHEZ
Published October 3, 2005

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HOMOSASSA SPRINGS - Duke Snodgrass believes in bloodhounds.

The floppy-eared dogs may not be the latest high-tech gadget that will show up on a segment of CSI, but Snodgrass says they are capable of using their sense of smell to track humans.

"Nothing can throw them off," Snodgrass said. "You can cross a stream however many times you want, change clothes, use perfume, whatever you can think of.

"And it doesn't matter. You'll still be leaving a scent, and as long as you do, a properly trained bloodhound can follow it."

He and his wife, Angie Snodgrass, operate Deputy Dogs, a bloodhound breeding and training facility that provides the dogs for law enforcement.

The organization has a breeding facility in Homosassa Springs, along with several other training sites in Florida and Georgia. Their purpose is to honor the memory of their late son, Kody Snodgrass. He was a graduate of Crystal River High School and later became a deputy sheriff for the Lake County Sheriff's Office, until his death in a traffic crash. Sheriff's Deputy Snodgrass was part of the Lake County Sheriff's Office tactical team and the department's bloodhound handler.

The program provides a free, highly trained bloodhound to any law enforcement agency that can use one.

"That's the major requirement," Snodgrass said. "They have to be able to use the bloodhound. We don't want to spend a lot of time and money and then just have the dog sit in someone's backyard."

Snodgrass is passionate about the use of bloodhounds in police work, and he's picked up some pretty powerful allies: Gov. Jeb Bush and John Walsh, whose personal tragedy from a murdered son transformed him into a national spokesman for missing and exploited children.

Recently, Gov. Bush and Walsh rewarded one of the Snodgrass' dogs, named Diamond in the Rough, with a top award. Diamond and her partner, Charlotte County sheriff's Deputy Emmett Merritt, were named the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Tracking Team of the Year for 2005.

In a ceremony in Tallahassee, Gov. Bush presented the team with a merit award, and Diamond was given a special bone. Two years ago, the governor presented Merritt and his former bloodhound, Rowdy, who died June 30, 2003, with the same honor.

Snodgrass recalls Diamond's abilities.

"She did everything perfect, all the time," he said.

In 2004, the team was called to a murder scene in a Charlotte County motel room. The victim was a 7-year-old girl, Hannah Burns.

Investigators determined someone had left the room through a window, and Diamond in the Rough picked up the scent from there, Snodgrass said.

After a lengthy trail, the dog and her handler found the suspect, Ruth Ann Burns, the girl's mother, who was charged in her killing. She was later found mentally incompetent to stand trial and was sent to a mental hospital.

The 40 bloodhounds in service with various agencies regularly save lives, locate fleeing felons or find the bodies of dead people, Snodgrass said.

"They have found many, many elderly people, usually Alzheimer's patients, who wandered away from a facility and get lost and are in life-threatening situations from the elements," he said. "They've also helped track down plenty of criminal suspects."

Bloodhounds work best when they are constantly trained, much like any police officer, Snodgrass said.

"They have to go out every day and either practice or train," he said. "That's what keeps them sharp."

No bloodhound from the program was used to try to find Jessica Lunsford, the girl who was kidnapped and slain in Homosassa Springs this summer, even though the crime scene is less than 5 miles from the breeding facility. Snodgrass said he did not want to comment on the subject.

"Let's just say we have a dog here for the Citrus County Sheriff's Office whenever they tell us they want one," he said.

The program relies heavily on private and corporate donations to pay for raising and training the bloodhounds.

Last week, the group had a major fundraiser dinner in Lecanto, and representatives from 17 agencies attended. During the fundraiser, a representative from the Pedigree dog food company said the company would provide food for all the dogs in the program.

"They are big eaters," Snodgrass said. "That helps us a lot. And Pedigree asked for nothing in return. We even asked them to give us a patch to put on our uniform sleeves, but they said "No.' They were just happy to be able to help."

--Jorge Sanchez can be reached at 860-7313 or e-mail at sanchez@sptimes.com

[Last modified October 3, 2005, 01:15:16]

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