Crime & Safety
Meet Cabazon's New Bloodhound Puppy 'Windy' [Photos, Video]
Windy is currently in training with the sheriff's department and she'll soon be helping throughout Riverside County.
The Pass community has a new resident; one of the four-legged variety. And though she's just 13-weeks-old, she's already a star.
Windy the bloodhound made her official debut this week, as the Riverside County Sheriff's Department showed her off at a media event on Wednesday.
Along with her handler, Deputy Robert Ochoa, she trains every day for her career with the law enforcement agency.
They'll train for approximately one year before she is ready to go out in the field without other bloodhounds. For now, though, she works with the department's other four tracking canines:
- Inga, a 7-year-old Bloodhound
- Mandy, a 6-year-old Bloodhound
- Marley, a 6-year-old German Shepherd
- Windy, an 11-week-old Bloodhound
"Unlike their patrol canine counterparts, tracking Bloodhounds are not easily interchangeable and remain with the same canine handler throughout their working career," Captain Geoff Raya said in a sheriff's announcement. "In order to capitalize on the long-standing working relationship, the handler and Bloodhound are matched while the Bloodhound is a puppy, and spend every working moment together."
Windy and her fellow tracking canines are available 24/7 for emergencies and provide support for cases like missing at risk elders, and abducted and runaway juveniles.
"Windy, along with her supporting equipment and training, was acquired through a generous private donation to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department canine program," Raya said.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here
