A (4:36)

Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. An eight week old bow. Now I don't know how many folks can in this podcast can see Bo because he's probably out of the frame, but an eight week old bow is a fraction of the size of the bow that's in our podcast studio today.

B (4:52)

Am I right? Yes. He was very teeny.

A (4:55)

Oh my gosh.

B (4:56)

I didn't know. I had no idea he would grow into this, this monster that I got here. He is huge. 100 something pound bow.

A (5:02)

He is huge. You know, last year we had Ma the Great Dane win and Maverick was a huge and impressive dog. And then I had the privilege of meeting Bo. He is huge and impressive too. And how tall is he? Do we know how many?

B (5:16)

I don't know, but he comes up to almost my hips. I know he's a pretty big dude.

A (5:20)

He's a pretty big dude is right. But I love the process there and that you involved York county, and then you had a Florida foundation funding, which is wonderful. And then you went to Kentucky and found this great dog, and then you had him at eight weeks old. So you two have been bonded.

B (5:38)

Oh, yeah, 100%. Yeah. You know, having him that young, which with any other dogs, I was just, you know, my German shepherd, thank God, is still alive. He's. He'll be 15 in April, which is insane for a purebred German shepherd. But he's, you know, he's. He's doing great. But, you know, canine handlers and law enforcement get very attached to these dogs because, you know, we put our life in their hands, and they put their lives in our hands, and so it's a very unique connection, you know. And so getting him at eight weeks old, honestly changes that just a little bit, because the German shepherds were getting him about a year and a half old when we get them. So raising him from eight weeks old almost makes me feel like he's literally not just my partner, but like he's like one of my children.

A (6:22)

Yeah, he's your baby. And you get to work with your child. Yeah. Which is incredible, too. Well, I love that. I love that. I want to back up a little bit because a lot of people listen to Robin's Nest, particularly these hero dog episodes, and they ask me, what about training? How do those dogs get to be so special? And I think about my dogs at home right now. Mr. Darcy, Daisy, Boomer, you know, very cool and special dogs. Mostly chewing toys and laying on the sofa with mom on TV show night or whatever. But they don't have the skills because I haven't trained them in the way that you have. Tell us some of your training techniques that some people in Robin's Nest today might be able to take to their own dog.

B (7:09)

So Beau's training was a little bit different from what we normally do with our German shepherds and Malwas. Those dogs go through about 16 to 20 weeks training in house. We get them. They're, you know, they don't know anything. All they know how to do is apprehend a bite, something called a bite sleeve, which is a large pad that we put on our arms to protect our arms from being punctured.

A (7:31)

Yes.

B (7:31)

That's all those dogs. Yeah. Oh, yeah. 100%. Yeah. We still feel the pressure. Just, you know, we don't get punctured, but that's all those dogs know. How to do so those dogs are very obedient. You know, they. They want to please their owners. They are very and very intelligent shepherds are. Yeah. So, you know, that training is more, I guess you would say, more textbook. You know, you're. You're giving the dog some type of stimulus, which is usually reward or a verbal affirmation, which what we use is. Yes, that's it. The word they're looking for is yes. So those dogs, like I said, it's more textbook that you would see in the canine community. Bo here, Bo is a little bit different. Bo was genetically bred from his ears to his folds and his face. They all serve a purpose for tracking and tracking only. So his ears, they kick up scent that helps get scent up in his nose, and those folds in their face actually trap scent, and it actually pulls the scent up to their nose. So everything about Bo is made for tracking. So all we're doing is helping him understand it at an earlier age, to give him basically a head start on understanding his nose and, you know, maturing his nose at an earlier age. So the easiest way to do that is to play chase, because the dogs at that young age, even, you know, even at a year old, at the age he is now here, you know, almost two years old, they're looking for excitement. These dogs, all dogs are, you know, predators at heart, right? Looking for movement, high pitched noises, right. A lot of animated activity. So the best way to do that is children. So I use my kids. We started out with my kids, and then we also used other officers at the department. But we just started playing chase at a very young age. We would, you know, put a treat in front of Bo, let him see it, and then the decoy or the person running away that Bo's trying to find would run. We start about 10ft, and then I would let beautiful pull on a small little harness that we get and, you know, basically dig through that to understand that that's my goal is to get that treat. And so he does that. And then we just continuously extend it, extend it, extend it. And then we start playing chase, where we just keep running and Bo's just chasing and chasing and chasing. And we did that with my children. My children love doing that. They would get little viney weenie sausages, and they would just run around in our backyard sausages and Beau would just chase them. And honestly, it evolved. I think you guys actually might have a video of it, that apartment sent over. But it evolved. My kids have those little razor scooter. They make a Electric four wheeler.

A (10:12)

Yes.

B (10:12)

And Bo would chase them on these electric four wheelers in the backyard. I obviously would have him on a harness and we would just chase these kids around in our field on the farm we live in. And like I said, you just continuously push it further and further and further until eventually one day, once Bo is starting to put his nose on the ground, we then take the decoy and the decoy would take off running, but the decoy would then hide behind a tree. Oh, so now Beau would run, get to that tree and doesn't see the decoy anymore. And he puts his nose down and he's like, oh, I can smell them. And then he goes around the tree. Obviously the decoy's there. Beau gets a lot of loving high pitched noises, a bunch of praise, words of affirmation and a treat. And then we would start extending the distance that the decoy is gone. We would use buildings. The decoy would run to the edge of the building, building and then go 10 or 15ft high behind an AC unit. And then we would continue and continue until eventually Beau was able to completely take the decoy out. So Bo is just giving a place and we give him the same exact word that we've been implementing to let him know that he's posted track, which is Bo is just something simple. Find that man or find that person.

A (11:24)

Yes.

B (11:25)

And Bo is just given a starting point and I give that command and he just knows to put his nose down and he starts tracking and we start short distances until eventually we got up to a mile and a half long and the odor had set for about an hour and a half and Beau's able to locate that. And then that's once he got to that stage. We certified him at that point and he was ready to hit the road.

A (11:49)

Unbelievable. Number one, it takes a lot of patience on your behalf too, and family involvement. And so when you think about all this success boas has, it's really celebrated not just by you and the wonderful Gastonia Police Department, but your entire family.

B (12:06)

Yeah.

A (12:07)

I think that's incredible. I'm so happy about that. Well, as we know, but everyone in Robin's Nest needs to know what makes Beau so special is he's a legend. At a young age, 18 months old, he's a legend with his tracking successes and what he's done. And I know there was one story that you shared in his nomination, a 10 year old autistic child and all. Can you share that one story? Because it's so powerful, because you're bringing Together families.

B (12:40)

Yeah. So, yeah. So Beau had literally just got certified. This would have been in October of 2023. So he's around eight months old at this point.

A (12:51)

Eight months old?

B (12:52)

Oh, yeah. Eight months old. And so we get a phone call. I had just put my kids to bed and literally got my phone out. Gonna start scrolling through social media like every adult does now, right?

A (13:03)

Yes.

B (13:03)

And I get a phone call from the night shift commander letting me know, hey, this is what we got. There is an autistic child in a residential. Very large residential neighborhood. And it's very sad that the child was in a foster home and just found out that he was being adopted. And it triggered the child. I guess he had gotten comfortable with the foster family, so it was very heartbreaking.

A (13:28)

So he wasn't going to be adopted by that foster family.

B (13:31)

Somebody else. Yeah. So it crushed him. It crushed him. And he had an episode and ran out of the house. The foster father tried to find him, couldn't locate him. They called some neighbors. The neighbors came together. Everybody started looking for this child, and no one could find him. I get called to the scene about an hour and a half after the fact, after they put drones in the air, trying to use heat signatures, see if they can't find anything. Just couldn't find anything in the neighborhood. So Beau gets there. We are giving. He got a pillow sheet or a pillowcase sheet. And we put that there at the back door where the last point he was seen. So Beau is introduced to that odor. So not only is Beau having to look for that odor, but he's also having to discriminate against the other odors that are there, which is the foster father, the foster mother, the neighbors, other police officers on the area. So there was about 30 people that Beau had to discriminate against.

A (14:30)

And by that means, you're just eliminating all their scents and focusing on the child's scent.

B (14:35)

Yep, Yep. So we call it. Yeah, we call it odor discrimination. Yes. And that's something that, you know, they're tested on every year. All canines are. When they get certified. Yes. So, you know, Beau's introduced to that, and we work it and work it and work it, and eventually we get to a patch of the yard. I'm like, has anybody went through this path? And the officer on scene is like, not that I know of. And then Beau takes off, and we track a couple streets over. You know, when we get to a backyard and there's some animals outside, so we have to work through that. We eventually get to a creek Track through a creek.

A (15:08)

Oh, my.

B (15:09)

And we get out onto another road, and at this point, we have something called perimeter officers. And perimeter officers are basically officers. They stay in their patrol car. They activate their blue lights, too. That way, if anybody's there, they kind of stop, they lay down, they don't move. So we have perimeter officers in the area. And we're coming up into this backyard, heading to the main street, and there's an officer that's right in front of us at this intersection of this main street. And I'm on the radio asking at this point, I got a drone following us at this point if they see anything around us, Because Bo goes something called head up. Head up, meaning odor is in the air, meaning fresh odor. Because our scent on our body likes to. It goes up in the air because it's hot. Hot air rises, right? So when dogs are popping their heads up like that, that means that they're in odor. We call it a scent pool.

A (15:57)

Right?

B (15:57)

And so I'm like, hey, you know, he's head up. You got anything? So I'm on the radio. I'm talking. The guys have got flashlights looking everywhere, because, you know, it's 11:30 at night, and next thing I know, about 30 yards in front of us, there's some Halloween decorations. And the kid was hiding behind the Halloween decorations, which has a light in it. So that's why our thermal sensors couldn't distinguish between it. So he's hiding in this Halloween decoration. He takes off running. And our perimeter officer's right there and was able to stop him and calm him down. Beau went over and, you know, we let him pet Beau for a little bit until the foster family got there and was able to take custody of him.

A (16:34)

Really. Beau saved his life because he could. No. Tell him what could have happened.

B (16:38)

No, because, like, literally, there was. Ows were there, because Bo's never heard. Bo's never heard coyotes. And there was coyotes howling and yelping, and if you've never heard coyotes yelping when they're in a pack, it makes it feel like there's a hundred of them out there, just the way their voices are.

A (16:53)

Yes.

B (16:53)

And so Bo was just freaked out by that. But literally, it was in a field right next to the house that we were in, right on the other side of the screen. So, you know, the kid could have, you know, drowned because the creek was pretty deep. He could have got lost into a large patch of woods that's there where those coyotes were. And, you know, it was frigid temperatures and stuff. So there's really no telling, you know, when these children are having these episodes, they could really fall and get hurt. They're not thinking clearly. It's just, you know, it's tragic.

A (17:22)

They're a kid.

B (17:22)

Yeah. 100%.

A (17:23)

They're a child. And this child is on the spectrum. And what I love, love, love is that it was Beau at eight months old, paying it forward. And you as a father, y. Getting that call late at night, too. That had to really. It's a good feeling to save a child.

B (17:39)

100%. Yeah. It's. It's. When we find people with these dogs, it's. It's. It's one of the best feelings in the world. It's like jumping out of an airplane every time we find somebody. It's. It's. It's just everything that we've sacrificed and done, all the training that we've. We've went through in that moment, it's like it was worth it.

A (17:58)

Yes. Well, that story itself gives me goosebumps, and it's one of the many reasons that Beau won this very prestigious award. So we had a huge announcement a while back where we brought you to the Today show.

B (18:13)

Oh, yeah.

A (18:13)

So share with us a little bit about the Today show experience and the unveiling on national TV about the hero dog of the.

B (18:21)

So, you know, Bo got on an airplane, which he. I don't know, because I did a lot of research before we got on this airplane. You know, I don't know if there's ever been a bloodhound flying on an airplane, but. Because I couldn't find anything about it. But, yeah, Bo gets on an airplane, which was an adventure. It was a big adventure. But we get to, you know, the Big Apple, and we take Beau in Central park, which was really cool. Got some really cool photos of Beau in Central park, and we go on to today's show. And low key had no clue I was gonna win. I honestly didn't think I was gonna win. But Al Roker turns that ball around, and it's Bo. And I was just in complete shock.

A (19:02)

I know you were. I was there, right there beside you, and I thought you were going to fall over.

B (19:06)

I looked over at my partner, Ryan Honeycutt, who was up there because I was in a sling for shoulder surgery that I had on getting hurt on track. I just looked over at him, and he was. He was in just disbelief as I was like. We were just blown away and just. It was. Speechless. Speechless. I really had no words.

A (19:23)

Yes. Well, it was A very special day. But it was also not just a special day for you, but also for Gastonia Police Department, right?

B (19:30)

Yeah. Yeah. Everybody was thrilled. They had a watch party up in our community room, and just, you know, everybody was super excited.

A (19:38)

No crime was allowed to happen during that hour, the Today show, Right? Because they were like, yes, knock on wood. Right? Because everyone had to watch. It's wonderful. But then that also led to some great, great outreach with the community. I saw the Christmas parade you were featured in with Beau. Tell me about how it feels to go home as a hometown hero.

B (19:59)

It was pretty amazing. You know, we would be out in public doing tracks and. Or just training and stuff, and I would have citizens like, oh, hey, it's Beau. You know, just getting on today's show just really boosted our local community's, you know, knowledge of Beau and what he's done and just, you know, basically saying how cool it was for Beau to be part of the community. We've had people come to the police department knocking on the door, wanting to know if they can meet Beau and stuff. So it's been a really, really cool experience. But not only that, but it's just, you know, the ability to open that door to the public, you know, because the biggest thing, you know, is community outreach within our community. We want our community to trust us. We want our community to feel like they can come and talk to us, you know, and, you know, we're just a big family within our community, all looking out for each other. And it was just. It was really rewarding knowing that, you know, people felt good enough to, hey, I want to go to the Gasoline Police Department, and I want to come meet Bo. I want to meet these police officers. So it's been really cool.

A (20:59)

I want to underscore that because that was a huge. It's a huge victory, not just for Gastonia Police Department, but for all police departments. And recognizing that sometimes that building, that bridge, the community that you serve with courage and valor and everything, it's just sometimes takes four paws and a wagging tail. And Bo's got a huge tongue that I know he licks me every time I see him. It just breaks down all of those barriers, doesn't it? And allows that outreach and that trust to occur. So I'm so happy for you and for Gastonia, for the people, and for the law enforcement department, too, to be able to have that with Beau being the ambassador.

B (21:38)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a good way to put it. It really is. He's. He's definitely crossing Boundaries. And he's doing a lot of good things for our police department right now. So it's been really, really amazing. We've had people even from the disaster in North Carolina with Hurricane Helene. He's actually going up later this month for a bunch of kids that's been displaced, and he's going to put a little demonstration on for them and meet a bunch of kids and meet the public up there. Just kind of, you know, maybe bring some relief, you know, just emotional relief to some people up there.

A (22:12)

A day of hope for them, too, and they get to have just a day where they can forget about their traumas.

B (22:17)

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

A (22:18)

I want to pivot back really quickly because Bo's stats are amazing. How many searches has he achieved?

B (22:25)

Oh, so Bo's. Beau's found, like, 16 people. And, you know, if, you know, my canine handlers, if they're listening, they're thinking, that's not really a lot of people. And, you know, because he's not a patrol dog, so that's. That's the big thing to talk about. So he's not our first line of defense. You know, so to say Bo is a. Bo is a specialty tool. He is a. He is a sharp knife, as you would say. He's a specific tool, which is missing persons and cases that have left the realm of possibility for our German shepherds to track successfully. Yes. So when Beau was called on, basically, he's expected to find this person.

A (23:06)

Yes.

B (23:07)

And, you know, and that's where it's. I think that's the biggest thing, because right now, as a patrol officer, when I was working my shepherd, we would track, you know, any type of crime, anything we're tracking. Right. With Bo, Bo is, you know, he is called when there's missing persons, when there is a significant crime that's taken place. And his starting point is two hours old or, you know, just the other day, the day before my surgery, actually, back in October. It's sad news, but it's also extremely inspiring. Just for his. Beau's genetic ability, we were called for a missing person. Hasn't been seen for 10 days. I'm not going to say any information about that because out of respect for the family, but I met the. The guy's mother and his father there. You know, just look a shock on their face still, you know, still processing that their, you know, child in their 20s hasn't been seen in 10 days. And I was given Bo's. Beau was given his pillowcase and all we had. We had no starting point. We just Know, he was last seen walking out of his apartment and Beau was. We put the pillowcase in front of the apartment complex, gave it to Beau, and he took off. And Bo tracks and tracks into the woods and tracks into a water runoff. And tracking down that water runoff, we come to a body of water that is clogged up by something. And Bo tracks to this, you know, almost looked like a small beaver dam. And unfortunately, Bo stops and doesn't want to leave it, and he's digging at it. And I had my cover officer go investigate it. And unfortunately, under this brush was the missing person. And Beau was able to locate him.

A (24:56)

After 10 days and provide closure for that family who just would never have had it without Bo.

B (25:04)

They actually wrote me a card in the mail, which if they're listening, thank you very much. It's literally pinned on my wall in my office because just. It means a lot to me. Just, you know, because it was so tragic just to know that, you know, I felt bad finding. But, you know, to know that that's exactly what they said, that you gave us the ability to physically bury our son. And, you know, without both, that wouldn't have happened. He was in a remote location that, you know, not to get graphic, but he would have decomposed and would have eventually washed away.

A (25:35)

Yes.

B (25:36)

And, you know, Beau was able to bring closure to that family, which is amazing. Amazing.

A (25:42)

I always ask every hero dog handler, what is your dog's superpower? So if you had to say, what is Beau's superpower? We'd love to know.

B (25:54)

His unwillingness to give up on a track. Yes. It's his superpower. And my kryptonite, because Bo tracks like a racehorse. He is sprinting because he. Well, he doesn't track. He's a trailer. So Bo trails. And, you know, when dogs are trailing like that, they run fast and Bo runs very fast and for a very long period of time.

A (26:17)

Yes.

B (26:17)

And I'm not. I'm not genetically like Bo, you know, so I get tired. But luckily, Bo is, you know, he's an ox, so he's able to pull me. But my cover officers, you know, they can't keep up either. So it's. But Bo's superpower is literally once he locks in on that scent, he won't give up.

A (26:37)

He's doggood about it. Right.

B (26:38)

He's not going to give up. You know, like the case, the seven mile track that, you know, I think probably one of the biggest case that got us nominated and winning was the kidnapped child.

A (26:49)

Yes.

B (26:49)

That was a Seven mile long track. I was dead. I was completely dead. I couldn't feel my legs. That's part of the reason why I tripped and fell on that track. It tore all the cartilage in my shoulder, you know, But Bo was. He kept pulling. So we kept going. You know, the entire team kept going and we found that kid. But, you know, alive. Yeah, yeah, alive. And we were able to rescue that child and get the person that was in the. The drug induced psychosis, the help they needed. But it was cool, though, because when Beau found that kid, after Beau licked the kid, gets the kid's crying, they're terrified. Of course, Bo, after the fact, literally right then and there, he's done. He realized he's done. He's like, I found the odor I was chasing. He just laid down and went. He's just like, I'm done. I'm completely done. Which we did too. All of us lay down right there. We were all laying. Yeah, we were all laying in the backyard of that place, just completely exhausted. Exhausted, yes. Because I didn't think I'd be doing a seven mile long track. Right. You know, especially with all of our gear.

A (27:49)

I can't imagine. I can't imagine.

B (27:52)

But yeah, no, that's definitely his superpower, is his ability not to give up until he finds the odor he's looking for.

A (27:59)

You know, that's a great lesson for all of us not to give up. Right. And certainly Beau has made a lot of families whole again. And importantly, he reminds us not to give up, which is great too. It's been such a joy talking with you today. Congratulations. Thank you so much on being the winner of this year's America's Top Dog is Law Enforcement Officer Bo. And what's his official title in the law enforcement department?

B (28:30)

Technically, he is canine. It's just canine Bo. But my chief keeps joking about me that he's going to promote him to lieutenant.

A (28:37)

Okay.

B (28:38)

So he'll be my superior. Right.

A (28:40)

Okay.

B (28:40)

So my chief keeps joking about it, so more than likely it's going to happen before he retires.

A (28:44)

That's exactly right, Lieutenant Bo. Just like putting it out in the universe. But congratulations so much and thank you for all you do. And thank you for serving for your community so beautifully. And importantly, thanks for being a representative to pay it forward for other canines as well, that they serve as these important ambassadors in our hometowns.

B (29:04)

Yeah. Well, thank you guys for, you know, American humane, you, all the staff, for giving us this platform, giving us this crutch. As we were talking about earlier for our department to lean on, you know, to be that bridge between the community and law enforcement. So thank you guys and thank you for telling both story. It means the world to us.

A (29:25)

Absolutely. Our pleasure. And again, congratulations.

B (29:27)

Thank you.

A (29:28)

Thank you. Thank you for tuning in to Robin's Nest. We want to hear what you think. Please make sure to review the podcast on your podcast platform. Watch for upcoming episodes that will include new and exciting discussions. If you love animals, you'll love this season of Robin's Nest.

B (30:00)

SA.