Kissimmee Police welcomed two new members to their Department recently, with a total of eight legs, and two tails between them. Duchess and Belle are bloodhounds, donated to the Department by the Senior Resource Alliance.
“This donation of Duchess and Belle brings an added level of safety and security for our community,” said Capt. Ian Downing “Since their arrival, both ladies have been working diligently with their handlers, Officers Kyle Bywater and Andrew Cason. Their training was rigorous, demanding, and critical to their success in the field. As a breed, bloodhounds typically have a gentle and laid back temperament, not to mention a set of cute, floppy ears. However, when they are working a scent trail they demonstrate tremendous determination, often being too stubborn to quit.”
Officer Cason has been with the Kissimmee Police Department for five years and works with Belle.
“I love it,” he said. “It’s an honor to be chosen for this position to potentially be able to help our community, a very vulnerable portion of our community.”
“It’s very rewarding. The stuff these dogs can do is nothing short of amazing,” said Officer Bywater who’s been with the Department for 9 years but relishes his opportunity to work with Duchess—and having her at home is a pleasure as well.
“My son is one-and-a-half years old. Duchess loves him and he loves her. She’s very good with kids. She just sometimes forgets how large she is being a puppy, because she’s not even a year old yet.”
The dogs arrived in late 2024. The dogs and their officer handlers, with whom the dogs live in their off-duty time, completed two certification courses totaling over 200 hours of class time and have been on active duty since February. It is estimated that a bloodhound has a sense of smell 1,000 times stronger than a human being.
The donation of the dogs are part of the “Bringing The Lost Home” initiative says Karla Radka, President and CEO of the Senior Resource Alliance, an organization dedicated to helping provide area senior with the resources to help them age gracefully.
“It is a collaborative effort with the police department to be able to find the lost, especially seniors that may wander in our communities because of dementia and Alzheimer’s.”
Along with donating the dogs, The Senior Resource Alliance will also be donating Scent Preservation Kits, used to pre-collect a person’s scent ahead of time and give responding canine units a head start. This head start means they can begin searching immediately. Kits will be made available at no cost to residents through the Police Department’s Community Engagement Unit.
