The Cook County Sheriff has a new search and rescue tool—a bloodhound named Lula Belle who’s already saving lives.
Though the 5-year-old dog answers to many names, she has one mission.
“Her soul purpose in life is to find people,” said Officer Anna Wilk, Lula’s handler.
The dog has previously been trained by law enforcement but was actually donated to the Cook County Sheriff's Office this summer.
"It took a lot more for me to understand what she’s telling me and the way she's trying to tell me," said Wilk.
Lula joins two other bloodhounds who are constantly called out on searches.
“It might be a missing adult with dementia or Alzheimer's, it might be a missing kid or we'll also trail criminal offenders as well,” expressed Cook County Sgt. Erik Roedel.
She's already had her first save—finding a suicidal man in three and a half minutes.
"I was smiling ear to ear... so excited to know that we found the person and safely,” Wilk said.
Dogs like Lula Belle are inherently made to hunt.
“Their long floppy ear(s) act as brooms to sweep odor up, long noses help them smell better,” said Roedel.
