AWW Alert: Bloodhound K9-In-Training Hugs Handler's Relative

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A bloodhound puppy named Travis is training to be a Montgomery County K9 officer.

The department posted a photo of the pup, who's training to replace a K9 named Dexter who passed away last year, on its Twitter account Wednesday.

The child in the picture is a relative of Travis's handler, according to Captain Paul Starks.

Starks says the photo was taken when Travis was about three months old, but he's closer to six months now.

"Ultimately, he'll be looking to find little lost children... folks with dementia, Alzheimers, people with autism," Starks said. "... we have be able to find those people quickly because it can be a matter of life and death."

Travis may also be trained to locate explosives.

There are about 30 K9s on the force total, including two blood hounds, three bomb dogs, a drug dog and the regular duty K9s.

They graduate the program when they are about a year old.

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