Rockland County Sheriff's K9 Galli scores first rescue, some treats, and lots of playtime
Rockland's newest canine recently completed her first rescue attempt, successfully locating a 76-year-old Suffern woman who had been missing for more than 10 hours.
K9 Galli's reward: some treats, her special red toy and lots and lots of playtime with her handler, Deputy Sheriff Brian Neary.
Galli joined the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office in February. The bloodhound, nearly 70 pounds at a year and a half old, was named for NYPD Officer Thomas Gallagher, who died in 2018 after a battle with 9/11-related cancer.
Though she's serious when at work — tail straight, nose down, and pulling Neary along as she tracks — when at ease, Galli's a ball of affection with Neary and just about anyone else who crosses her big-pawed path.
The rescue
Suffern Police were contacted around 11 p.m. Aug. 9, seeking help with finding a resident of Esther Gitlow Towers on Lafayette Avenue. The woman had left around 5:30 p.m. to go for a walk and hadn't been seen since, said Suffern Police Lt. Jose Martinez.
The sheriff's department and Galli were called in. Using security footage, police could see she had headed east along Route 59.
Galli faced hurdles: the scent track was nearly eight hours old. But she picked up the woman's scent and headed into a wooded area with Neary at the other end of the leash.
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Galli followed the scent for about a third of a mile. The canine found the woman around 3 a.m., and gave a "passive alert," sitting down and looking at her handler.
It had been 10 hours and five minutes since the woman was last seen. She was laying on the ground and able to ask for help.
The Suffern resident was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital for assessment.
The life of Galli
Galli is the newest dog in the sheriff's K9 unit and was trained at Scent Evidence K9 in Tallahassee, Florida.
The department has eight dogs but only one bloodhound. "Not everyone wants a bloodhound," Sheriff Louis Falco said, and it's not just about the slobber. They are susceptible to ear infections (Galli's ears drag as she tracks) so they need a lot of care and cleaning.
Galli is obedient, affectionate and curious. And her nose seems to be wriggling all the time.
She's pretty much always training. Neary said he and his colleagues will lay scents around different parks in Rockland so she can practice tracking in different terrains. Galli can also smell an item that was handled by different people, then be able to detect whether all the people who handled the item are present.
That practice doesn't stop at home. Galli lives with the Neary family. Deputy Sheriff Neary's sons, ages 7 and 5, like to play canine handler and hide and seek with dad and the dog.
Handlers get financial support for care and feeding of their canines, and when it's time for the dog to retire, usually after eight or nine years of service, the handlers have the chance to "buy" the dog for $1. Neary imagines that Galli will stay with his family after retirement.
"She's part of my family," Neary said, reaching down to pat Galli as she looked up at him. "Me and my big shadow."
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rockland police bloodhound first rescue: finding woman lost in woods
