Finding the Lost, One Puppy at a Time

Ashley Hunter, ECB Publishing, Inc.

On September 11, 1995, a little boy in south Florida was abducted. Unfortunately, Jimmy Ryce’s family would never see him alive again.

Ryce's attacker and abductor went free for months until he was finally arrested in December of 1995. Ryce's parents believed that their son could have been found earlier and his kidnapper brought in sooner if a Bloodhound had been used in the search for their lost son.

To provide law enforcement agencies and search and rescue teams (SRT) with the dogs needed to track missing people and to educate children and parents about the real-world threat of child predators, the Jimmy Ryce Center was founded.

The center distributes photos of abducted children to gain media coverage, offers counseling and support, and donates bloodhound puppies to SRTs and law enforcement agencies around the nation.

That is where Greenville resident, Pam Stewart comes into the picture.

Growing up in Miami, Stewart heard about the tragedy of Jimmy Ryce on the news. She had fallen in love with the bloodhound breed after taking in an abused bloodhound and already had a few years of breeding experience under her belt.

The tragedy disgusted her, and Stewart realized she was able to do something to help. Joining hands with the Jimmy Ryce Center, Stewart is the center's primary bloodhound puppy breeder. From Stewart's kennels, the center has been able to give away, completely free, around 400 bloodhound puppies to applying law enforcement agencies around the nation.

Due to the healthy and working breed lines that Stewart produces in her puppies, many agencies return to her, even apart from the Jimmy Ryce Center, to purchase more bloodhound puppies from her.

Stewart's puppies are scattered around the United States, with eight puppies from her most recent litters of 20 puppies (two litters, ten puppies each) going to agencies around Florida, Georgia and Louisiana. Some of her dogs are also working hard overseas, in places like Germany or South America.

Despite her passion for what she does, Stewart wasn't always a bloodhound breeder. Prior to getting into her current field, she had experience in working with veterinarians and within the exotic pet industry.

Her passion for her animals shines through; she has around 10 adult bloodhounds on her premises and each has their own kennel and plenty of room to run and stretch their legs when the weather is nice. Stewart has a few cats that stroll around her yard, all of them rescues who needed someone to take them in and give them a place to live out long, happy lives. In a spacious fenced pen, Casey, an African Spurred Tortoise that can reach upwards of 100 pounds, has its own special place.

Stewart also keeps track of the puppies that leave her kennel to be trained as search and rescue dogs. Her website has a whole page dedicated to their shining careers, and her phone is filled with photos sent to her by the dogs’ handlers and agencies.

Maybe that is what makes Lake Bloodhound Kennel's breeding stock so good, what draws agencies around the nation (and world) to Pam Stewart's life saving, trail-following hounds: she cares. She cares about the excellence of every puppy that leaves her kennel; every dog is American Kennel Club registered and given a clean bill of health before it goes to its agency of employment.

She cares about lost children; the passion and emotion in her voice is obvious whenever she begins to speak of abducted children and the ways her dogs are helping reunite families or bring abductors to justice around the United States.

Pam Stewart does more than own a kennel and breed bloodhounds: she gives law enforcement and search and rescue teams what might be the very tool they need to bring home a lost child and save lives.

To learn more about Lake Bloodhound Kennels, visit them online at: lakebloodhoundkennels.com.

Are you interested in doing volunteer work? Pam Stewart and Lake Bloodhound Kennels always welcome people coming out and learning how to care for the dogs and puppies. Contact Stewart at (386) 365-8011 to discuss volunteer opportunities and hours.

Stewart also invites local law enforcement agencies to get in touch with her, as she is always willing to help guide them through the process of obtaining one of her puppies through the Jimmy Ryce Center. To learn more about the center, what they do and how to get involved, visit: jimmyryce.org.