NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — There are some workers with the Tennessee Department of Corrections with a very specific look.
"Big floppy ears. Big flabby necks," TDOC's K9 Coordinator Dustin Flanery said.
They also have a specific job.
"Their main purpose is to find escapees," Flanery said.
They have 14 certified tracking dogs across the state, helping find not only escaped inmates, but other missing people like kids and the elderly. Getting from a puppy to a certified dog, takes some training.
"We'll start socializing the puppies. Then we'll basically start playing hide and seek with the dog. Get them used to searching for somebody," Flanery said.
There is more to it than games, like increasing the distance and changing up the location. The dogs have been around for a while. According to Flanery, for escapee purposes the dogs have been used since about the late 60s early 70s.
Meaning some have come and gone, but they are remembered. At the Turney Center, you can find a cemetery for them up on a hill on the property.
But there are still new dogs coming in to train and bond with, continuing the work of finding the scent.
Officials said, on average, the dogs are used about once a month to find missing people.
