Dogs in general are special animals, but a K-9 is particularly exceptional because they are trained to help humans do things better. Bloodhound Ryley, a K-9, not only helps BSO find missing persons she also makes a pawsitive impact by comforting them and giving them emotional support.
Trained to Find Missing Persons
Ryley and her human handler, Deputy Jarvey Berman, have been working together since she was just little pup of four months. The human-canine team primarily respond to requests to help law enforcement agencies locate missing persons, in particular those that might be in danger, such as children, elderly individuals that may suffer from dementia/Alzheimer’s and autistic individuals.
As if doing such an important job was not impressive enough, Ryley recently completed the Law Enforcement Therapy Dog course at Paws & Stripes College at the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office. In other words, now she is also a certified therapy dog.
Now that Ryley is a certified therapy dog, she will be part of a three dog therapy team along with two other bloodhounds, K-9 Macie and K-9 Anthem. Later this year, Ryley’s sister, K-9 Bluey is expected to be certified as well.
Love for Children
“K-9 Ryley is very sweet. She loves all people but particularly loves children. We have attended events at schools and preschools with children practically on top of her, and she lies there, relishing all the petting and attention. Ultimately, she goes on her back and shows her belly for belly rubs,” Deputy Berman said. Ryley’s easygoing attitude is what brings peace, calm and comfort to victims of crime or those that may be going through a crisis.
“She is also a typical bloodhound, and as with any hound breed, smelling everything is her favorite activity. K-9 Ryley and I have responded to approximately 60 requests throughout Broward County to search for missing persons. Also, since October, K-9 Ryley has had two direct finds involving endangered juveniles and confirmed assists where her track helped lead to the recovery of the missing persons,” Deputy Berman shares.
A "Pawsitive" Impact to Community
The Jimmy Ryce Center, which was founded after Don and Claudine Ryce after their son was brutally murdered by a sexual predator, provides bloodhounds like Ryley to law enforcement with just one condition. That condition is that in the case of a missing child, they will respond to any requests to help find a missing child.
“A bloodhound has 60 times the scent power of a German Shepherd and is the only dog that can follow a human trail more than a few hours old. A bloodhound is your best single bet for bringing a child, abducted by a predator, home, alive. We believe that Jimmy would be alive today if a bloodhound had immediately been brought in to search for our son.”
When K-9 Ryley and Deputy Berman are not focusing on their primary mission of finding missing children, they are visiting schools or attending local events, fulfilling their pledge to make ‘pawsitive’ impact in the community.
