Video: Buster Helps Sheriff's Office Bust Accused Car Thieves

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — With his big long ears, wrinkled forehead drooping over his eyes and tongue hanging out of his mouth, Buster resembles the real-life embodiment of Mickey Mouse's dog, Pluto.

But don't let his clueless countenance fool you.

A member of the Pasco Sheriff's Office K-9 crew, Buster is a full-blooded bloodhound certified by the National Police Bloodhound Association. He specializes in tracking and locating lost people and is often called to assist other law enforcement agencies to locate lost children or missing hikers.

The 5-year-old bloodhound has the unique ability to track scents days after a person has been reported missing. He can pick the scent of a person in a crowd and can even track people through water.

On Tuesday, Buster once again proved the accuracy of his keen sense of smell when the sheriff's office received a call about a car stolen in the Bayonet Point area. Deputies located the car abandoned in a wooded area behind a church at 1052 Little Road. But the car thieves were nowhere to be found.

Buster and his handler, Deputy Chris Miller, were called to the scene.

For 30 minutes, Buster led Miller through the woods and a swamp, stopping occasionally to sniff the ground. He led deputies to a bush where, sure enough, one of the accused car thieves was hiding. A short time later, Buster located a second accused car thief near a home on Sunbeam Drive in New Port Richey.

Kari Ann McCormick, 27, of Weeki Wachee, and Shayne McFarland, 29, of Brooksville were taken into custody.

McCormick told deputies that McFarland offered to give her a ride to Hernando County. Once in the car, McFarland admitted to her that the car was stolen and deputies were after him. So, they agreed to abandon the car and took off running through the woods and over fences to evade deputies.

But they didn't count on Buster.

Both were charged with car theft and criminal mischief and taken to the Land O' Lakes Detention Center where bail was set at $5,000 each.

Buster plays an integral role in the sheriff's office's SafetyNet program for people who have a mental disorder that makes them prone to wander, such as dementia, Alzheimer's disease, autism or Down syndrome.

The person at risk of becoming lost is swabbed with a gauze, which is then stored in a jar. If the person becomes lost, the jar is unsealed and Buster sniffs the gauze, allowing him to track the person's scent.

When he isn't on the job, Buster enjoys swimming in the pool, jumping on the trampoline and just lying around the house, acting goofy.