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Meet Cleo. Vivacious, friendly, attentive, curious. She'll need all those traits for her job as the Stamford Police Dept.'s new scent-tracking bloodhound. Cleo will help locate missing persons, particularly children and those suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
" Our call volume is heavy in that department," said Chief Robert Nivakoff.
Cleo came to the department last week from a breeder in Sweetwater, Tex. Her arrival brings to six the number of canines acquired by the force. Two additional dogs are on the way. Each is trained to perform specific duties. Cleo, the only bloodhound, is a search and rescue dog. Her "hiring" was funded by donations from the Stamford Police Foundation.
Cleo is 5 months old and weighs 45 pounds. She'll eventually grow to 90 pounds, said her handler, Officer Robert Macari. "She'll be working with me, living with me," he said. They're destined to become best pals. Macari will accompany Cleo on all her training sessions, and the pair will partner on the road once training is completed.
The new arrival had a coming out party, of sorts, on Tuesday. She played with a plastic toy, skirted from one visitor to another and enthusiastically sniffed her surroundings. Her tan coat was neat and shiny, and her large, floppy ears bounced as she boldly explored the police station.
"Her personality's coming out," said Macari, who said Cleo was reserved when she first arrived, a bit stressed from the trip. He reveled in the progress she's made getting used to her new home, and predicted surrounding towns will take notice.
"As soon as the other departments know we have her, they'll be calling us," he said.
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