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 Rosie's Biography
Rosie “Red Tracker” was born on September 21, 2003 to parents Parker Jewels and Isabe-la Mae. Born and raised in North Carolina, Rosie was trained by Mike Craig and Linda Dunn, who are the founders of Canine for Kids, currently known as Public Safety Dogs, Inc.
Rosie began training at the early age of 9 weeks, which is the standard age for working dogs. She was being trained for the Boston Police Department, but handled trails in the woods better than the busy city environment. Because of this, Mike and Linda decided that she would be a better fit for the Forest Preserve environment.
Rosie is a scent-discriminating, man-trailing dog. She does not find cadavers, do article searches, or find drugs. She trails a specific person based on their scent and a scent article. Some patrol dogs only use ground disturbances to track a subject. Rosie and other bloodhounds use both ground disturbances and scent discrimination to trail a subject. A scent article can be an article of clothing or bed linens, for example.
Rosie's Training
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Rosie Fun Facts
Full Name: Rosie Red-Tracker
Birthday: September 21, 2003
Mother’s Name: Isabe-la Mae
Father’s Name: Parker Jewels
Birthplace: Burlington, North Carolina
Name Meaning: Rose Flower
Name Origin: English
Favorite Color: Red
Hobbies: Digging, chewing, and drooling
Career Goals: “Not to wish for work, but to find whoever is missing.”
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Rosie’s handler, Forest Preserve Lieutenant Tracy Phillips, traveled to Burlington, North Carolina in December 2005 to begin a two-week training course. Lieutenant Phillips received a certificate in Scent Discrimination and Man Trailing, and brought Rosie home with her.
Rosie and Lieutenant Phillips have traveled yearly to Salamanca, New York for training in the spring. The training is conducted by the NPBA (National Police Bloodhound Association) at the Allegany State Park in New York. Training is very important to keep Rosie motivated and active in her job.
Rosie and Lieutenant Phillips also train twice a month with the Joliet Police Department, as well as the Ottawa Police Department, Cook County Sheriff’s Police, Fox Valley Park District, and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.
Rosie stays engaged in her work through training. Bloodhounds can stay actively working for approximately 6 to 10 years. Hopefully, as long as Rosie remains motivated, she will continue to want to work.
Rosie’s Work
- Rosie assisted the Addison Police Department with finding a man who was missing for 17 hours on January 10, 2006.
- On March 29, 2006, Rosie and Lieutenant Phillips were called to assist Illinois State Police in another missing person case.
- On November 6, 2008, Rosie and Lieutenant Phillips were requested by the Bolingbrook Police Department to aid in recovering evidence from a bank robbery. Rosie was able to locate all of the evidence that Bolingbrook Police were looking for in the case.
- Rosie and Lieutenant Phillips have assisted many other law enforcement agencies as well.
Support Rosie
The costs of Rosie's care and training are supported by donations. You can help support Rosie by making a donation on-line via PayPal here, or by calling the District's Community Partnerships Manager at 815.722.1289. Annual fundraisers are also hosted by the Forest Preserve District for Rosie.
Photograph Courtesy of Glenn P. Knoblock
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