Although they are just a few months old and still in their bonding and training phases, two new bloodhound pups are preparing for the rigors of police work in Fairfax County.

Bolt and Silas are the police department’s newest additions to their bloodhound team. The agency purchased the pups in August when they were just 6 weeks old. They join Shnoz and Cody, sisters from the hills of Northern Alabama who joined the agency in 2008 at 19 months old.

Bloodhounds have been a valuable asset to law enforcement around the region for many years. Trained for both criminal and non-criminal missions, they do not bite when they find a person and are ideal to help locate missing children or dementia patients. Bloodhounds are trained to indicate the presence of a trail and locate missing people, using scents that may be hours or days old.

They’ve saved lives, been instrumental in solving major cases by identifying specific homes and vehicles relating to crimes, and saved valuable time for detectives by helping to quickly provide information on direction of travel of suspects.

Bolt and Silas will be trained by MPO Pete Masood and PFC Kevin Clarke, who will use the renowned “Kocher Method.”

Historically, the Fairfax County bloodhound program began in 2002 with Charger and Molly, who grew to over 110 pounds. They served until they retired in 2008. Fairfax hounds are often requested by jurisdictions that do not have them.

After their yearlong training period, Bolt and Silas will faithfully serve the residents of Fairfax County for many years to come.