Still in training, “Jimmy” the bloodhound to soon join Redding PD

December 21, 2020 Trevor Montgomery

REDDING, Calif. — With more than half his training completed, the Redding Police Department could soon see the addition of a new furry partner in the form of “Jimmy”, a scent tracking bloodhound.

Once trained, Jimmy – who is eight-months-old and has spent the last five months in training -would become the first bloodhound to go into law enforcement service in the North State region.

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The Redding Police K9 Unit currently consists of five dog and handler teams and the unit is supervised by Redding Police K9 Sgt. Jeff Schmidt. The existing teams already deployed by the department specialize in multiple functions including searching and tracking of persons, drug detection, article searches, handler protection and tactical/SWAT deployments.

However, the team does not currently have, nor has it ever had, a bloodhound working with the unit, meaning Jimmy could be a real asset to Redding PD, according to Redding Police Officer Justin Duval.

At just eight-months old, Jimmy the bloodhound has already spent the last five months training to become the newest member of Redding PD’s K9 Unit. KRCR image

Duval got Jimmy as a pup at just three months old as a donation from the Jimmy Ryce Center of Florida. The non-profit organization was established by the family of a young boy who was abducted and murdered in 1995.

“We get a lot of calls involving children, young children, especially with disabilities, autistic and whatnot, older folks, elderly that have dementia, that, may wander away,” Officer Duval recently told KRCR News Channel 7. “Obviously there’s a lot of wilderness areas in town, and greenbelts or the outlying areas, and it’s easy for these folks to disappear, and it’s hard to find them.”

Still in the training and trial phase of his budding law enforcement career, Jimmy is being trained by Duval and Debbie Owen. They’ve been training him for about five months, and hope he will be ready by his first birthday within the next four months.

“He started off with small searches, short areas. A lot of rewards, praising, food, treats, edible treats for him, to reward them for finding their person,” Owen recently said of Jimmy’s ongoing training. “And as they progress you get them longer, you do the searches longer and longer, and then they get a little more complex.”

“It’s going to be very rewarding,” Owen continued. “The first time he finds somebody it will be very rewarding.”

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Ensuring there is no cost to Redding PD, Duval paid to have Jimmy shipped to Redding and has been paying for all his food and ongoing veterinary care.

Although Redding PD’s K9 Unit currently consists of five dog and handler teams, the department has never employed the use of a bloodhound; a fact the department and Officer Duval soon hope to change. RPD photo

To learn more about Redding PD’s K9 Unit visit Communities for Police Canines, Redding (CA) on Facebook or online, or visit Redding PD.

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Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.