Jersey’s First Bloodhound Academy Class Graduates

CREST HAVEN – All six graduates had a nose for learning. They panted while a few bayed in anticipation. On graduation day May 1, the first of its kind in New Jersey, they sniffed their way to the place of honor.
One was so gleeful he tried to give Freeholder Vice Director Leonard Desiderio a paw of appreciation looking him in the eye.
This was no ordinary cap-and-gown graduation; it was the commencement ceremony of Bloodhound Academy Class No. 1 from the Cape May County Police Academy.
Within the next week, the six bloodhounds and their human partners should be nationally certified.
The class members:
Cape May County Sheriff’s Office
Officer Erick Teasenfitz and K-9 Hank
Officer Jose Gomez and K-9 West
Murfeesboro (Tenn.) Police Department
Officer Angela Alexander and K-9 G-Man
Salem County Sheriff’s Office
Officer Andrew Hecksher and K-9 Oliver
Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office
Officer Joseph Kleinow and K-9 Luke
Essex County Sheriff’s Office
Detective Michael Tesei and K-9 Big Joe.
During 55 days of training, based at the Cape May County Police Academy, the trainees ran over 400 trails, which equates to over 200 miles. Through all those trails and miles, the bloodhounds had to discern various scents, as they would have to during a real-life search for a missing person or a suspect.
They sniffed their way through parking lots and shopping malls, mountains and beaches. In short, the officers and K-9 partners went through virtually every type of environment that they may some day be called upon to search.
Founder and guiding light for the course was Officer Russell Norcross of the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office. He hatched the idea last September, and worked feverishly to put all the parts together. That meant securing all types of permission from various agencies, rounding up instructors and adhering to the rigors of the National Police Bloodhound Association.
For his efforts to make the course a reality, Undersheriff Robert Nolan presented Norcross with the Sheriff’s Achievement Award as a token of appreciation for the task completed.
“History is in the making here,” said Sheriff Gary Schaffer as he said the event was the first graduation of its kind in the state.
Schaffer said West, the bloodhound partnered with Sheriff’s Officer Jose Gomez of the local office, was received from the Denver, Colo. Based Alie Foundation. Part of the foundation’s mission is to place a bloodhound in a police department that would be able to train it and make it available to search for missing children.
Schaffer also credited Roger Titus of the National Police Bloodhound Association with assisting the class by working closely throughout the 12 weeks.
Following graduation locally, the six officers and their dogs will travel to Allegheny State Park Salamanca, N.Y. There they will receive national certification, said the sheriff.
Officer Hecksher, from Salem County, addressed the assembly on behalf of the class. He said he was honored to be a K-9 officer and bloodhound handler. He added it was like no other officer, he regarded it as an honor, and opportunity and all in the class were ready to take the challenges ahead.
The class trained in a variety of scenarios, he said, as well as in all type of weather conditions, from rain and snow, to fair weather and all times of the day and night.
“We will be called when all else has failed,” said Hecksher.
Finally, Hecksher noted and thanked Norcross for the long hours he put in prior to the start of the course on Feb. 19, and then even longer days of training with the group.
“You are raising the bar for those with K-9 careers. Our careers have just begun,” he concluded.
To learn more about the Alie Foundation visit: http://www.alie.org/home.html
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