A DETECTIVE’SBLOODHOUNDS: BEST FRIEND

Bloodhounds hunting deer, 1826.

in Medieval Scotland as “sleuth hounds”, these dogs patrolled the Scottish borders from the 1300s to track Border Reivers – raiders of both Scottish and English descent who terrorised folks who lived near the border. So honoured were these sleuth hounds in Scotland that poems were written about both Robert the Bruce and William Wallace trying to outsmart and outrun these tremendous hunters.

Descriptions of the bloodhound as we know it began to emerge in the 16th Century. John Caius, physician and pioneer in advancing the science of anatomy, wrote an account which gave the breed its name, describing how they would use the scent of blood to trace its quarry in game parks. Later, ith their large ears and keen sense chemist Robert Boyle would write the earliest W of smell, the bloodhound has become known report of the bloodhound’s skill to track of Sherlockas Holmes celebrated or Thomas a detective Nightingale as the likes people, recounting one dog’s capability in tracking a himself. In fact, Sherlock Holmes employed man for seven miles along a busy route, finding the the help of a “lop-eared creature, half spaniel suspect hiding in an upper floor of a building. and half lurcher, brown and white in colour” Bloodhounds have been excellent assets across known as Toby in the pond too, with some of the most famous noses would later be portrayed by a bloodhound in sleuthing history coming from the United States. Nick Carter, named after a famous detective from in the BBC’s hit TVThe show, Sign of Four America’s ‘dime novel’ pulp fiction, was born in would have no other assistance, insisting he , a dog who 1900, owned and handled by Captain G V Mullikin would “rather have Toby’s help than that of of Lexington, Kentucky, and held the record for the whole detective force in London.”Sherlock And . Holmes picking up a cold trail after a long period of time, it’s no surprise that some of the world’s catching the scent of a suspect in an arson case greatest detectives have paired with after 105 hours and leading authorities to the these sensational sniffer dogs. With an culprit. Nick Carter was responsible for successfully olfactory bulb almost forty times larger following over 650 trails, and ultimately became than a human’s, crammed with nearly the inspiration for many fictional crime-solving 300 million receptors, bloodhounds bloodhounds. Nick Carter’s record was smashed in have noses so strong, they can catch 1954 when another keen-nosed, anonymous hound a whiff of the past! Their ability to was capable of picking up a scent over 300 hours old pick up a scent in the air, combined to find a missing family in Oregon. with being absolutely tireless when tracing, makes them a detective’s Perhaps the most famous bloodhounds from British history are associated with the first “official” dream partner (and a crook’s worst experiment with police dogs – and the most nightmare) when working a case. notorious cold case from Victorian London. In 1888, Jack the Ripper was terrorising London’s streets. The date of the breed’s arrival With the Metropolitan Police still in its adolescence, to the UK is hotly debated, the police found themselves under immense although it’s considered that pressure to prove to the public that they were they are descendants of the making headway with solving the case and catching hounds once kept at the Abbey the killer, which led to some unconventional of Saint-Hubert, Belgium. Used methods of investigation. Police Commissioner Sir primarily for hunting deer and Charles Warren was under extreme scrutiny from wild boar, there is evidence the press who took every opportunity to ridicule that bloodhounds have been his efforts (or lack thereof). When a letter to employed to track humans Times Elizabeth was Stride published and Catherine following Eddowes the murders in late of from as early as the Middle September, suggesting that police allow bloodhounds Ages, particularly in the the opportunity to try and trace the Ripper, Warren wilds of Scotland. Known responded with cynicism, concerned that hounds wouldThe be unable to trace a suspect from a scene with no evidence to acquire a scent from, and the fear the trail would be easily lost in the city’s busy streets. waited outside Kelly’s door for two hours before discovering the dogs were no longer in London. Illustration from The Penny Illustrated Paper, 20 October Whilst Bungho and Barnaby may not 1888, depicting Burgho and Barnaby training in London have been able to catch the Ripper, In a case already damning for the police, he feared never getting the chance to put their employing hounds could lead to the conviction of the magnificent tracking skills to the test, wrong man, and thereby more humiliation for the Met. it has been suggested that the dogs’ But feeling pressure from the Home Office, he quickly presence in London deterred the Ripper from committing further murders, pausing began to experiment with bloodhounds. and the man responsible for introducing his killing spree. In 1901, Brough told bloodhounds to America. Brough arrived in Scarborough Magazine London soon after with two of his finest hounds, Although dogs have accompanied police officers were not put to the test so far as the since the 15th Century, they were not a fixed part of Burgundy (known as Burgho) and Barnaby. Whitechapel Murders were concerned, for the force at the time of the Ripper murders. Instead, , “[The hounds] the police borrowed dogs from private owners when no murder was committed during the time Two-year-old Burgho and four-year-old Edwin Brough with one of his bloodhounds. the hounds were in London. This I consider an extra snout was required for investigations, and it Barnaby were very used to working together, Despite the trials being successful, the overall some evidence of the deterrent effect was Sir Charles Warren’s intention to buy dogs that having both been through intensive training experience would prove to become another blunder for which the employment of bloodhounds could remain a part of the police department. It was under Brough’s watch. They were two of the the Metropolitan Police and the Ripper case. Brough would have on crime, for another of the with this in mind that he contacted Edwin Brough, a breeder’s fastest hounds and were capable of was required to return to Scarborough in late October, ghastly Jack the Ripper tragedies was silk manufacturer from Scarborough, who was also a hunting “the clean shoe”, that is, following a but left Burgho and Barnaby in London with his friend, committed shortly after it was known famous breeder of hounds – particularly well known trail which wasn’t strongly marked in any way. If W K Taunton. Brough called for Burgho to be sent that the hounds had been sent back to for his successes in tracking competitions around there were two dogs who may have had the skills to Brighton for a dog show soon after. As October Wyndyate.” It’s entirely possible that the the country – founder of the Bloodhound Association, necessary to catch a cruel and clever murderer neared its end, and still receiving no confirmation vast media attention Burgho and Barnaby’s such as Jack the Ripper, it was unlikely to find them from the police as to whether or not they were presence in London received, combined any more skilled than Burgho and Barnaby. keen to purchase or hire the dogs, he took Barnaby with the notoriety of bloodhounds’ tracking back from Taunton, and the three returned to skills, deterred the Ripper from striking The hounds proved their incredible abilities their home in Scarborough. The news of the again to avoid the risk of being traced. during a period of trials. In the early morning dogs’ removal was slow to reach everyone in the Nevertheless, the experiment garnered of Monday 8th October, Brough took the dogs to negative press, with reporters creating a Regent’s Park where they successfully tracked police force, and the final embarrassment would damning picture of comedic incompetency a young man who had been granted a fifteen- coincide with the discovery of the Ripper’s within the Metropolitan Police. minute running start for almost a mile, despite rumoured final victim, Mary Jane Kelly. the thick hoar frost that coated the ground. That night, Burgho and Barnaby were taken to Hyde It wasn’t until the 1930s that the UK Overwhelmed with the embarrassment police force finally recognised the potential Park where they were tasked with tracing another and slander the case garnered, Sir Charles of employing police dogs. However, man in the dead of night. Once again, they were Warren resigned on 8th November 1888, just their initial introduction leaned towards successful. The final test would include Sir hours before Mary Jane Kelly’s murder. aggression rather than tailing, with attack Charles Warren himself as a quarry to prove the Authorities received news that Kelly’s body dogs being introduced. Whilst bloodhounds bloodhounds’ intelligence. At 7am on Tuesday had been spotted through the window are unquestionably the most skilled 9th October, six test runs were made, with of 13 Miller’s Court at 11.30am on 9th trackers in the dog world, their gentle Warren twice acting as the hunted man. In all of November. Leading the investigation, nature means they’re not much use at the six tests, the hounds were required to track Inspector Abberline recalled that no pinning down suspects once they’ve found people they were unfamiliar with, occasionally crime scenes were to be touched until them. Following the Second World War, the encountering deliberately crossed paths. Each police began to favour German shepherds, time, the hounds would successfully pick up the Brough’s bloodhounds arrived to pick replacing the role of the bloodhound on correct trail and find their suspect. Although up the Ripper’s scent. The police the police force. However, no dog has widely praised, many used Warren’s experiments been able to capture the imagination – or in the park with the dogs as a source of ridicule. replicate the astounding tracing ability An illustrated image of Sir Charles acting as the – when it comes to crime such as the hunted man proved irresistible to those keen to bloodhound; the ultimate sleuthing dog. tar his name. On October 19th, the Press Association suggested the trials were making a mockery of the police force, claiming that the dogs were lost amidst the fog during a test in Tooting. Completely untrue, the bloodhound experiments nevertheless A carbon print portrait of Sir continued to blemish Warren’s reputation.

Charles Warren.