Pepper, a friendly one-and-a-half-year-old bloodhound, has no idea that she is the namesake for a community safety initiative that will help rescue missing vulnerable adults and children more quickly, according to ElderSource CEO Linda Levin. Bloodhounds are the breed best known for their exceptional scent-trailing abilities. ElderSource donated and sponsors Pepper, a specially trained scent-trailing bloodhound, as part of “The Pepper Project.”
“[Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office] already had a scent dog named Patriot,” Levin said. “Still, they needed a second scent canine and approached us with the idea of sponsoring Pepper. Part of our mission is to safeguard the vulnerable, which resulted in this partnership between ElderSource and JSO.”
Pepper was trained by Tallahassee’s Paul Coley of Scent Evidence K-9 and, this past spring, began working with JSO K9 Unit Officer Clinton Hart. Through “The Pepper Project,” Duval County caregivers and families will have individual scent preservation kits to make it easier and faster for missing vulnerable persons to be located and returned back home as quickly as possible.
“We hope that we are making a difference,” Levin said.
“The Pepper Project” is a collaborative community effort between ElderSource, the area Agency on Aging and Aging and Disability Resource Center for Northeast Florida, JSO and R.E.V.A.M.P. – Registry for Endangered, Vulnerable, and Missing Persons – in Duval County. The initiative is further supported by a generous grant from Baptist Health, as well as coordination with The Arc Jacksonville and Scent Evidence K9, the private scent canine and handler training company that trained Pepper.
Along with bringing specially trained scent canine Pepper to Duval County, another essential part of the initiative is promoting, providing information and distributing free Individual Scent Preservation Kits. These kits provide a convenient and safe way for families and caregivers to collect and store an individual’s unique scent, which is as distinctive to a scent canine as a fingerprint is to police. Families or caregivers can then provide the uncontaminated scent to first responders for use by scent-trailing canines to locate the missing vulnerable person more rapidly.
Vulnerable persons include those of any age who have Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, autism spectrum disorder, or other cognitive, memory, developmental, or sensory impairments. Individuals living with these diagnosed conditions are at much greater risk if they become lost, and the more time that passes, the greater the danger. Rapid rescue is critically important and saves lives.
In addition to utilizing these individual scent preservation kits, caregivers are encouraged to register vulnerable persons with R.E.V.A.M.P.
R.E.V.A.M.P. is a free, confidential, and voluntary registry for endangered, vulnerable, or missing persons within Duval County. Caregivers provide critical information about their loved one’s specific behaviors, medical conditions, and other individual details that help first responders locate their loved one more quickly if they become lost.
The scientifically tested preservation kits safely store a vulnerable person’s uncontaminated scent for up to 10 years and are freely available by appointment from ElderSource and The Arc Jacksonville, or from JSO by registering with R.E.V.A.M.P. Duval County. The easy-to-use kits come with complete instructions, a specialized evidence-grade jar, sterile gauze pad, ID label, non-allergenic gloves, tamper-proof tape, and an Individual Preparedness Plan flash drive.
The kits were developed by Coley, who founded Scent Evidence K9 in 2012 and has worked with JSO since 2021. He has trained American Kennel Club-registered bloodhound scent dogs, as well as a few Labrador retrievers and golden retrievers, for deployment across the U.S. and internationally. He is understandably proud of the nearly 1,000 missing persons his graduate dogs have found to date, and that number continues to grow.
Coley said that his dogs are thoroughly socialized, approachable, and can play and behave like regular dogs when they are not working. He noted that Pepper has such a fun, chill personality, and he will never forget how much she loved lounging in her favorite spot in the kiddie pool during the summer heat.
As a former FBI Forensic Canine Operations Specialist, Coley knows firsthand the importance of obtaining an effective scent article belonging to a missing person, particularly when time is critical for a successful rescue using a scent-trailing canine. Coley stated that the simple-to-use kits have saved lives and are utilized by families, caregivers, law enforcement agencies, and community organizations worldwide. He has provided instructional and informational videos on Scent Evidence K9’s website, where the public can also purchase the kits.
While every missing vulnerable person case is different and each individual has unique personality traits and medical conditions, it only takes seconds for a child or adult to wander. Vulnerable people are known to be at higher risk of becoming disoriented or accidentally lost. A case in point is the frequent alarms on cell phones that alert the public to missing children or vulnerable person cases, or the overhead signs on highways that flash similar alerts to inform the community if a vehicle is involved.
The American Pediatric Association reports that autistic children have a nearly 50% chance of becoming lost at least once before age 17. Also, those with autism naturally gravitate toward any body of water, significantly increasing the risk of accidental drowning.
The Alzheimer’s Association has reported that approximately 60% of these individuals will wander away from their familiar surroundings at least once and often multiple times during their lives. Vulnerable persons of any age can go missing within minutes. They may be completely unaware that they are lost and in danger from weather exposure, dangerous terrain, or traffic, among other unfamiliar threats they are unable to recognize or navigate.
Some lost vulnerable individuals are terrified or become disoriented by sights and sounds they do not recognize. They may hide or ignore calls from first responders, making discovery more difficult. While most of these missing persons are found, on average, within a one- to one-and-a-half-mile radius of their home or facility location, some may unexpectedly roam much farther.
Bloodhounds like Pepper possess up to 300 million scent receptors, allowing them to detect and differentiate human scents with remarkable accuracy. They also possess determination and endurance, making them invaluable assets in locating missing individuals.
Once a scent-trailing canine is given items from a person’s Scent Preservation Kit or a personal possession belonging to the missing person, the dog will immediately begin searching for and following that specific scent, regardless of weather conditions, challenging terrain, crowds of people, or other environmental factors.
Once Pepper finds the missing person, she is trained to immediately sit or lie down and await the arrival of first responders. Dogs like Pepper, trained to locate lost vulnerable persons, are selected for their exceptionally calm temperament and demeanor. They exhibit no aggression, make no sounds and avoid any movement that might frighten or alarm the lost person or cause further sensory overload.
Pepper with her handler’s daughter, Kambri Hart, 7
Far from frightening anyone, Levin describes Pepper as “the sweetest dog,” and Hart, her handler, who has been a canine handler for 12 years, said that he “could not ask for a better dog.”
“Bloodhounds are sometimes known to howl or be loud, but Pepper does none of that,” Hart said. “She is an amazing tracker, and Mr. Coley did a great job training her for those eight months.”
Hart joined the training sessions with Coley and Pepper for several more weeks and said he has maintained a weekly training schedule ever since. Working with Pepper, he said, is a reward in itself.
“Pepper has the best personality,” Hart said. “She is wonderful with my [seven-year-old] daughter, Kambri. It’s neat to watch [Pepper] work, because she is so calm and never jumps. It’s so rewarding when she leads us right to a missing vulnerable person.”