Not all personnel at the Caroline County Sherriff’s Office wear uniforms. Some only wear collars.
One four-legged detective, known simply as Gus, is so well respected that law enforcement officials in other Virginia Counties sometimes request his assistance in cracking their cases.
The six-year-old Bloodhound has been on the force for about three years and has chalked up numerous successful investigations.
Gus was trained with Mid-Atlantic Search and Rescue, a civilian organization that is capable of providing lifesaving services 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
When his original handler died of cancer, her husband donated him to CCSO’s Sgt. Craig A. Heywood. Gus was also trained and certified by the Virginia State Police. He is known as a scent-discriminant search dog, indicating he will follow a single scent.
While we might smell chili cooking, Gus would smell beef, onions, beans, salt, pepper, cumin and so on.
“His nose is 100,000 times more powerful than the human nose,” Heywood said.
On one of his first big cases, Gus was called to Arlington to help find a woman with dementia who had wandered off and disappeared. She did not survive, but Gus found her body for authorities.
Gus has also solved cases in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania and Culpeper.
When a CVS staff member accosted a shoplifter, the thief shoved the worker away and ran out the door. Gus was able to pick up his scent from the worker’s clothes and trail him, leading to a successful arrest.
“The picture Gus gets with his nose is better than what we get with our eyes,” Heywood said. “The oldest confirmed trail that he tracked for us was ten days old.” Gus has also had success with trails that were eight and five days old.
Anyone who considers stealing a car might think of wearing gloves or wiping away fingerprints, like in the movies, but in Caroline County that would just be a waste of time. With Gus on duty, their scent would remain as a powerful clue for this canine detective.
In one incident a stolen car was found abandoned on the roadside. Gus immediately picked up a scent, then followed it past a number of houses before taking deputies up to the door where the thief was found.
The court system recognizes Gus as an expert witness. “On his say, it is considered good enough to obtain a search warrant,” Heywood explained.
Gus even solved a violent Internet scam that was taking place in Caroline County. A man from another area, who had only communicated with a local woman online, made arrangements to meet in Bowling Green. Instead of a new girlfriend, he was greeted, assaulted and robbed by two guys—a crime they had committed several other times.
Gus picked up their scents from the victim’s clothing and both muggers were apprehended.
This talented professional even merits his own car. There have been cases elsewhere when a law enforcement dog died because a situation caused him to be left locked in an overheated vehicle. Gus travels in a car with special equipment that keeps tabs on the inside temperature. If it gets too warm, the rear windows are partially lowered automatically, and a fan circulates fresh air from outside, so Caroline animal lovers don’t need to worry about Gus.
Although he is an energetic guy who likes to keep his nose to the ground, he doesn’t mind a pat on the head if he is outside with Sergeant Heywood—but only when they are not working.
By Kenneth Snow
CP Correspondent
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