Allegheny Co. Sheriff's Office Welcomes New Recruit, K-9 Ranger

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office has a new recruit.

The department is welcoming K-9 Ranger to their ranks. The 10-week-old Bloodhound puppy will soon become a vital part of their team.

According to the Sheriff's Department, K-9 Ranger will be partnered with Deputy Sheriff Jeffery Belback, a three-year veteran of the force. Deputy Belback says this will be his first canine partner.

Ranger is the second AKC Bloodhound donated to the department by breeders DeWayne and Salena King of Mercer County. The other, K-9 Max, worked for the department from 2006 until his death last year.

The Sheriff's Office says they will rely on Ranger for his "inherent tracking abilities."

They say he will be used for "tracking individuals and other investigative techniques."

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The department says Ranger and Deputy Belback will be spending some time together now, and in the summer, the pup will begin training.

Belback told KDKA-TV's Ralph Iannotti, "We'll start the basic stuff right away, like getting him house broken."

After that is several months of specialized training before Ranger can be certified.

Belback said because Ranger is a bloodhound, "he has a natural drive to search things out, and that's what he'll be, a search dog."

The department expects Ranger will begin patrolling with Deputy Belback in September or October.

The Sheriff's Office allowed the public to vote on Ranger's name.

With the addition of Ranger, the Sheriff's Department K-9 team now has a total of four dogs, but Ranger is the only bloodhound.

He's small now, but the breeder who donated Ranger to the Sheriff's Department says he'll likely end up weighing close to 100 pounds when he's full grown.