The Virginia State Police worked with Virginia State Park’s to provide a bloodhound demonstration during in-service training at Douthat State Park.
Virginia State Police Bloodhound, Moe, gets introduced to Virginia State Park's staff.
Trooper Nicolas Lomasney with the Virginia State Police came to Douthat State Park on Wednesday afternoon to present a bloodhound demonstration. The state police bloodhounds are trained to track lost persons or fugitives and search for suspects of crime.
Trooper Lomasney spoke with the entire in-service group after lunch about what his responsibilities are as a bloodhound handler and what state park’s responsibilities are when requesting a bloodhound.
After Trooper Lomasney’s talk the whole group got to meet Moe. Moe is a large bloodhound with a red coat and a white patch on his chest. He sniffed several officers in the group and seemed to love the attention he was receiving while Trooper Lomasney introduced him.
Trooper Lomasney gets ready to start his track with Moe.
One of the in-service instructors volunteered to run a trail for Moe to see if he could find him. He provided Trooper Lomasney with a scent article or something that he had touched.
Everyone gathered at the beach complex at Douthat State Park to watch the instructor run through the woods and wait for Moe to see if he followed his trail. Moe gave a big bark of excitement at the beginning of the track. Sure enough, Moe came barreling through the woods with Trooper Lomasney running shortly behind him holding his lead. Moe had found the instructor!
Moe found the instructor!
Trooper Lomasney congratulated Moe with lots of praises and a small dog snack, and the whole class clapped and cheered for Moe, which Moe seemed to love the attention.
Trooper Lomasney went to a 13 week school in conjunction with the Department of Corrections to train with Moe, his bloodhound. Moe is one of six bloodhounds in the Virginia State Police available 24 hours a day to assist local law enforcement agencies or State Police personnel.
Virginia State Parks is state accredited law enforcement agency.
Did you know our 35 state parks are open 365 days a year? You can also find detailed information about our trails including maps with GPS way points and video guides by clicking here and selecting the park of interest.
For more information on Douthat or any of Virginia’s 35 award winning state parks click here or call toll-free 1-800-933-PARK.
Contact the park office directly at 540-862-8100 or e-mail Douthat State Park. Douthat is located at 14239 Douthat State Park Road, Millboro, VA 24460.
