Fallen Officer's Family Helps Name New Baltimore County K-9

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — The Baltimore County Police Department has a new four-legged member, and its latest K-9 officer has a very special name. Now in training to become a search and rescue dog, Miss Mutzy Rae Daisy of Baltimore County has a name that police say is "filled with pride and tradition."

The family of Officer Amy Caprio helped name the Baltimore County Police Department's newest K-9.

Caprio was killed May 21, 2018, just shy of her 30th birthday.

Since she was 2 years old, she had found comfort in a stuffed toy named Mutzy, according to officials, who said her family recalled how the stuffed animal was a constant stabilizing presence in her life, from grade school through injuries to the police academy. Authorities hope the K-9 will bring the same comfort to others.

See Also:

• Officer Caprio Remembered As 'Dog Mom' And Community Protector
• Harford Humane Society Memorializes Officer Amy Caprio

"Just as Amy committed herself to the service of others, our newest bloodhound will be there for those who need her and help continue Amy’s unfinished work," the Baltimore County Police Department said in a statement. "Here in Baltimore County, our bloodhounds are used mainly in a search and rescue capacity. Their tracking skills, combined with their gentle nature, makes them an ideal resource for helping to locate missing and lost people."

Her nickname will be "K-9 Rae," according to police, who explained Rae comes from the lineage at the kennel where the pup was born, at Deep Hearted Bloodhound in Loudonville, Ohio. "Daisy" is the name of her mother.

"Though she is called K-9 Rae for short, her official name is Miss Mutzy Rae Daisy of Baltimore County – a name chosen thoughtfully and filled with pride and tradition," the police department said in a statement.

Now in training with Officer Davies, K-9 Rae will start out chasing someone she can see, then progress so the person she is trying to find is out of sight, according to police.

Positive reinforcement is the motivation, with praise and a treat resulting from finding the correct person.

The training for K-9 Rae is about 10 months, according to police.

After she completes her coursework, she will join Winston and Bella, the two other bloodhounds in the Baltimore County Police Department, as an active member of the K-9 team, officials said. Her role will be to find those who are lost or missing.

When Caprio was on the job, she was also someone who found those who were missing.

"She would find dogs on the side of the road [and] take them back to the precinct," her father, Gary Sorrells, said at an event dedicated to the officer at Perry Paw Dog Park in October.

K-9 Rae is not the first bloodhound who will memorialize a fallen officer.

In 2016 Maryland State Police named a bloodhound K-9 Dailey after Senior Deputy Patrick Dailey of the Harford County Sheriff's Office. He was killed in the line of duty Feb. 10, 2016. Police said K-9 Dailey tracks criminals as well as missing persons.

Bloodhounds have 40 times the olfactory receptors as humans, and their long ears help sweep scents from the ground into their nose, according to PBS, which reports they are so reliable that their trailing results can be admissible in court as evidence.