The nose knows
Bloodhound donated to Pueblo of Laguna for search, rescue

Zeus, the Laguna Police Departments first bloodhound, was donated. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — A 4-month-old bloodhound was donated to the Laguna Pueblo earlier this week for use in search and rescue efforts.

The Jimmy Ryce Foundation, in Florida, operated by Don Ryce, Jimmy’s father, donated the dog during a special ceremony on Tuesday.

The dog has been named Jimmy after the 9-year-old boy who was abducted by a sexual predator, sodomized and who was shot and killed as he tried to escape from his captor.

While speaking about the loss of his son in 1995 and the tragic circumstances surrounding his death, Don Ryce’s voice choke and he had tears in both eyes, even though he has donated between 300-400 bloodhounds since 1996.
The large police departments in Florida had no idea how to track and find Jimmy, Ryce said.

“If there had been a bloodhound, they may have been able to find him before he was killed. My wife and I thought about and discussed how we could help other children who are abducted, and we decided to begin the foundation and start donating bloodhounds to law enforcement agencies nationwide,”  Ryce said.

Dog handler

Billy Emanuel, of the Laguna Police, is handling the dog and is responsible for his training.

“Jimmy is at home with myself and my wife, and our other two bloodhounds, Zeus and Sadie,”  Emanuel said.

Zeus and Sadie were donated to Emanuel by a couple in Odessa, Texas, who could not afford to continue feeding the dogs, Emanuel said.

“I go through a 40-pound bag of dog food, canned dog food and other treats about every five to six days,”  Emanuel said.

Jimmy’s food and training will be provided by the pueblo.

“You know, I couldn’t do this without my wife’s support under very difficult circumstances. She is going through treatment for breast cancer while all this is going on,”  he said.

“Jimmy is eating like a horse and we will be going to the New Mexico Department of Corrections K-9 Training Center in Santa Fe for four to five weeks in August.” 

He is taking both Jimmy and Zeus, who are 3 1/2 years old, to the training.

“We will be learning how to trail. Scent tracking is very important,” he said.

The dogs will learn how to track on scent in different types on terrain, hills, desert, pavement and across moving streams.

Consensus: Bloodhound is great donation

Randy Jose, a tribal member who attended the ceremony, said, “It is a great feeling knowing there is someone who is dedicated to finding kids.”

“We’ve never had this before, so I am glad this dog will help with search and rescue efforts,” tribal member Loren Marion said.

Lemuel Martinez, 13th Judicial District Attorney from Grants, said, “Having a search and rescue dog now is a much needed upgrade, and not just for Laguna, but hopefully the dog will be available for search and rescue efforts from other agencies in the county.”

Emanuel said once trained, Jimmy will be available to any law enforcement agency in the county: Cibola County Sheriff’s Department, Grants and Milan police departments, Acoma Police, Zuni and Ramah Police.

Sgt. Steve Chavez, of Laguna Police, said beginning in 2005, when a young child was abducted by a carnival worker during a feast in Laguna, Chavez began working with Capt. Michelle Ray, chief of Laguna Police, and tried to find training and ways to help the department be able to respond effectively to child abductions.

As of today, every Laguna officer is fully trained in how to respond to child abductions, he said.

Kristina Faught-Hollar, an assistant district attorney in Grants, has worked with Laguna Police and there is now a Child Abduction Response Team in place in the county, with Laguna being part of the agency.

Laguna Gov. John Antonio Jr. said the donation of the bloodhound means a lot to him both personally as a father and as governor of the tribe.

“Sometimes some of our parents are not as observant as they should be and it will be good to have a trained bloodhound.”