Maverick the K-9 Officer Finds Missing Boy Using Scent From a Blanket

Austin Cannon
·1 min read
white labrador retriever that helped find a missing child runs through a field
white labrador retriever that helped find a missing child runs through a field

Alex Zotov / Shutterstock

All Maverick needed was a blanket—and his super-powered nose.

The English Labrador retriever is one of the K-9 officers for the with the Union County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina. Earlier in August, he and his handler, Joshua Dye, set out to find a missing boy, WBTV reported.

Maverick began the search by sniffing the boy's blanket. Then he was off.

"We tracked down to a pretty busy highway, made one turn, went down another road. When the juvenile saw us coming down the road, he actually came out of the woods and came to us, and Maverick ran right up to him and that's how we found him," Dye told WBTV.

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Maverick joined the sheriff's office back in January after a family donated him. Without him, Dye told the TV station it would've been much harder to find the missing youngster. His cell phone was off, so they couldn't track him that way.

With incredibly powerful noses—they put us to shame in the smelling department—dog excel in scent-based tracking. That's exactly what Maverick does, along with narcotics detection and obedience, the sheriff's office says.

Hopefully the folks in Union County won't need his services too often, but it's good to know Maverick is fantastic at his job. Way to go, buddy!