Meet New Local K-9 Maverick

DUDLEY, Mass. – The Dudley Police Department is introducing its new 5-month-old K-9 hunting dog, Maverick.

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Dudley Police Officer Luis Pacheco introduces new 5-month-old K-9 hunting dog Maverick

Officer Pacheco and Maverick train with the Northeast Houndsmen group, which works with law enforcement and assists K-9 handlers in rescue and recovery.

Bloodhounds have about 300 million olfactory receptors, while humans have about five million.

The cost of the K-9 program was primarily funded by Mr. Gerald and Ms. Marilyn Fels

According to Dudley Police, they donated $25,000 to the program. They are now seeking grants to fund Maverick’s operational equipment and supplies.

“It was kind of my career goal. I’ve always loved dogs,” Officer Luis Pacheco said. “I just think it’s amazing what they can do and the benefits they bring to a city.”

Officer Luis Pacheco started with the department in 20-8 and his partner Maverick is a 5-month-old Bloodhound who still has a lot to learn.

“I think this will be as big a learning curve for him as it is for me,” Pacheco said. “This is all new to me and I’m looking forward to learning more from him and discovering a new aspect of the job that we can experience together.”

Pacheco said they will complete about six months of training and have Maverick fully operational in less than a year.

“Mav will be a tracking dog. So he will be able to locate missing people, people who have fled a crime scene,” Pacheco said. “They are great for people with dementia, if they leave their house and get lost. He will also do scent searches.”

Maverick will be able to track items that people have thrown away or hidden by associating their scent with the item.

Pacheco called Bloodhounds single-purpose tracking dogs. Their floppy ears and wrinkled skin contribute to their incredible sense of smell.

“People don’t really understand or know about the breed, but it helps them bring the scent to their face and trap it in a scent cone,” Pacheco said. “They have a differently designed nasal system that allows them to smell more senses. And they also have a specific part of their brain that’s larger than a normal breed or any other breed, which helps them process smells that may be at least a few days old.”

Pacheco is looking forward to introducing Maverick to the community, noting that St. Hubert’s dogs are approachable and great with children. Dudley police said Maverick will be the only St. Hubert K-9 officer in southern Worcester County, so the department’s new nose will be beneficial to both the city and surrounding area.

“If you can get new things for your department or you can set goals that you know others around you didn’t think were maybe achievable or something like that or something that you could achieve,” Pacheco said. “So reaching that goal really makes me feel good and gives me the satisfaction of accomplishing something that I wanted to do.”