Bella the Bloodhound Helps Rescue Man at Liberty Reservoir: Police

A bloodhound helped save a suicidal man at Liberty Reservoir recently, the Baltimore County Police Department reported.

The four-legged officer—Bella the bloodhound—was called in with other first responders to find a man who was reportedly planning to kill himself.

The man’s mother alerted authorities after her 33-year-old son texted her that he was going to commit suicide on the reservoir’s shore after 11 a.m. on Friday, July 31, police said.

Authorities found the man’s vehicle at a trailhead, and Bella quickly tracked his scent, following it along the trail and into some brush, where police said her handler, Officer Davies, found the man unconscious and unresponsive.

Baltimore County fire crews from Franklin, Randallstown and Liberty Road helped provide first aid to the “seriously ill man,” who was taken to a local hospital, according to police. His condition is not currently available.

Bella is the only search-and-rescue dog in the Baltimore County Police Department, police report.

Law enforcement agencies began using bloodhounds in 1805 in England, according to the American Kennel Club.

The dogs have 40 times more olfactory receptors than humans, and bloodhounds have some of the strongest sniffers of all dogs, according to PBS.

In addition to its nose, the bloodhound has two other features that help it follow a trail—its droopy ears sweep the ground and its wrinkly skin pulls scents in to help it collect olfactory data.

Pictured, Bella the bloodhound with Officer Davies, her K9 handler. Photo Credit: Baltimore County Police Department.