After building a fence to train the newest Strafford County (NH) Deputy Sheriff — Jasper, a bloodhound puppy — it’s fair to say that Martin and Jackie Burby probably have bigger hearts than many of the some 270,455 people employed in the U.S. fence industry.
At the May 18 meeting, the Strafford County Commissioners thanked the two owners of 125 Maintenance and Fence of Barrington for their $1,300 donation to help the 13-week-old bloodhound. The new fence will be built around the residence of Jasper’s handler, Deputy Sheriff Kristian Kerkensen.
After Sheriff David Dubois called Martin and Jackie looking for a quote, the two owners offered to donate both the fence and the labor.
“They made an unsolicited donation that was greatly appreciated by the commissioners and the county,” said Dubois.
The fence serves as a vital part of the young bloodhound’s police training. Kerkensen said that it’s crucial for Jasper to be outside as much as possible, where he’ll be exposed to every sort of weather condition, allowing him to be able to work at anytime, in any weather.
Once fully grown and trained, Jasper will make an amazing addition to the force, as most bloodhounds do. Sometimes called a nose with a dog attached, bloodhounds are such great trackers that their trailing results are admissible pieces of evidence in a court of law. Their large, ultrasensitive sets of scent membranes allow the dogs to read terrain and distinguish smells at least 1,000 times better than humans.
Researchers estimate that the nose of a bloodhound consists of about 230 million “scent receptors” — 40 times more than humans have. If a human’s olfactory center is about the size of a postage stamp, a dog’s can be as large as a handkerchief.
After Jasper’s fully trained, he’ll help locate and find missing persons and suspects.
After the donation, Jackie Burby had only one request, asking “Can I get my [picture] with him?”
