TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Donations Bring Mattie To Tampa Police Canine Unit

Tribune photo by JULIE BUSCH

Mattie, a 3-month-old bloodhound, is a general-purpose search dog used to find missing children, missing adults and suspects on the run.

ADVERTISEMENT

By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 31, 2008

TAMPA - The newest member of the Tampa Police Department sat on the marble floor of an M&I Bank branch in downtown Tampa today, her hindquarters sliding on the slick tile.

Within seconds, Mattie, a 3-month-old bloodhound, was on her feet again, looking for trouble. Her handler, Sgt. Eric Ward, scratched her around the neck and under her floppy ears.

Cries of "Aw!" bubbled up from the bank employees in the lobby.

Police introduced Mattie to the public at the bank's branch at 501 E. Kennedy Blvd. to thank the bank for a donation that helped purchase her. In April, M&I Bank and the local philanthropic group 13 Ugly Men Inc. each donated $8,000 to the canine units of Tampa police and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

The bank also has raised about $1,000 more to donate to the police and sheriff's offices as part of a "Dog Days of Summer" campaign. Anyone wishing to donate to the canine units can purchase a paw print for $1 or a stuffed dog toy for $3 or $5 at one of the bank's branches. The campaign runs until Aug. 31.

Named after the bank's mascot, Mattie is the police department's second bloodhound and a welcome addition to the team, said Capt. Cherie Adkins.

The other bloodhound, a male named Snoop, was donated by the Jimmy Ryce Foundation for the main purpose of locating missing and endangered children. Mattie will be a more general-purpose search dog used to find missing children, missing adults and suspects on the run, Adkins said.

The donations also have been used to buy training equipment for Tampa police and a Belgian Malinois-German shepherd mix named Chino for the sheriff's office.

The police department purchased Mattie from a breeder in the Cedar Key area for about $750 and has set aside other money from the donations to handle her food and veterinary care, Adkins said.

Ward expects he and Mattie will work on the street in about six to nine months, after her training. To be certified by the state, Mattie must be able to track a single scent that is an hour old over three different surfaces for about a mile and a half, Ward said.

For now, she's tracking Ward. "I'll hide. She'll put her nose to the ground and won't stop until she finds me," he said. "She does it all for a dog treat."

Unlike other police dogs, Mattie is encouraged to be around people to heighten her sense of smell, Adkins said. The department's patrol dogs, some of whom detect drugs or narcotics, are left alone in their handlers' vehicles with the air conditioning running when they're on duty but not on an assignment.

This practice, common among canine officers, ended in tragedy this month in Mulberry, when a dog from that police department died after the car's air conditioning malfunctioned. That officer's car did not have a heat-alarm system like the Tampa officers' vehicles do. The system honks the horn, drops the windows and runs a fan when the vehicle's inner temperature reaches a certain point.

Ward's vehicle has that alarm system, but because Mattie is not trained to be aggressive she has no problem going into police headquarters and district offices with Ward, Adkins said.

She's not above mischief, however.

"She's found our computer wires," Adkins said with a chuckle. "We have to be very vigilant with her."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT