JONES COUNTY, Ga. — You may think life as a police dog is ruff, but not for K9 Jones.
He's the bloodhound sniffing out trouble for the Jones County Sheriff's Office with his partner, Deputy Steven Astyk.
Jones is ten months old and comes from a breeder in Kentucky; he's a Kentucky Straight Bloodhound, Astyk said.
He's been training as a puppy in scent-specific tailing and tracking.
"Ironically enough, Jones was not a dog we selected," Astyk said.
Astyk explained that his department was searching for a K9 bloodhound and was already having conversations about another dog when Jones' name was mentioned.
"We were approached by the breeder; she said his name was Jones," Astyk recalled. "I was like, this is a joke, right? You know where I'm from, right? And she was like, I know you're from Georgia, and I said yeah, Jones County, and she said, 'Well, sounds like a perfect fit then!'"
Deputy Astyk said he served at a few other law enforcement agencies before coming to work at JCSO.
It was fate that Jones came not only to work for Jones County, but that he was assigned to be Astyk's first-ever pawesome partner in crime.
"I've always wanted to handle, but the past agencies I've been with didn't have openings," Astyk explained. "When I brought it up with sheriff here, it just seemed like the right fit."
On the paw patrol, it's meant to be.
The deputy said his dog is "very good at hide and seek," and Jones proved it by finding a faux suspect in 15 minutes.
After a long day of woofing down crime and unleashing justice, the good boy gets a treat.
"But, they're hotdogs," Astyk said. "I have to keep them on ice because he only likes 'em cold."
Something else Jones loves is flowers. No matter where he's going, he'll always stop to smell them.
"Mr. Jones is probably the goodest of boys," Astyk said. "Definitely."
They want you to say hi if you ever see them!