For the record and as an update to that article written in 2006, I am out of the hounds today. I tried my hand at it for about 5 years and made very little progress. For one, I could not find more than one man in Colorado who was really "on board" with a breed improvement effort. It would have required a consortium of people to really enjoy success. The people in the Bloodhound fancy are absolutely clueless, and have in large measure been infiltrated and brainwashed by the animal rights folks. While I am a big supporter of the work the mantrailing Bloodhound can do, it is nearly hopeless in today's political climate with both law enforcement personnel and the Bloodhound fancy to be truly successful except in the most fortunate of circumstances. My late uncle in South Carolina was one of those who had the right people in place and the right background himself to do some real important work with the dogs, as were the folks in Illinois from which I obtained my stock. In most cases, the cops don't want you to show up their beloved shepherd or Malinois dogs that the breeder sold the police department for way too much money, and as a "can do it all dog" package. The shepherd doing mantrailing work on the cold trail would be about as effective as the border collie being used as a pit dog. The seasoned Bloodhound breeders just want to keep peddling pups and keepeveryone else from obtaining intact animals. Spay and neuter is the mantra...... except for their animals. I was successful in obtaining some really well bred intact dogs. I did work with a Sheriff's department in training the dogs, but with no outlet to work them in real world search and rescue service, and nobody else interested in breed improvement, the endeavor was basically futile. Kenny Rogers said it best, "know when to walk away, and know when to run". I eventually just ran from the nut cases that are the mantrailing fancy, and the cops..... well, I've been running from them my whole life anyhow! Neither of those groups is ready for the kind of free thinking innovation that would truly bless society or the Bloodhound breed.