Auto accident kills Metro bloodhound

Karen Zekan

Friday, Aug. 21, 1998 | 10:51 a.m.

Metro Police's first bloodhound team was hit by a truck while crossing the street Wednesday, killing 7-month-old Bonnie and injuring her handler and canine partner, Barney.

Two lanes of traffic had stopped at 5:50 a.m. to allow Brenda Tunnell and her dogs to cross Lake Mead Drive in a marked crosswalk, but the driver of the pickup in the third lane failed to stop, Officer Steve Meriwether said.

The puppy died at the scene. Tunnell suffered minor injuries. Barney, 2, was taken by ambulance to a local veterinarian for emergency treatment for a fractured left front leg.

Dr. Brian Ray at Rainbow Animal Hospital said Thursday that Barney's prognosis for recovery is good.

The pickup's driver, Kathy Smith of Las Vegas, was cited for driving without a license and failing to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk -- both misdemeanors.

"It's very sad and it's very frustrating," said Search and Rescue Officer Bill Cassell. "The impact on the team will significantly reduce our ability to find lost people. Having bloodhounds in town is an asset that could someday make the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful rescue mission."

The bloodhounds were trained exclusively to find missing people, and are neither aggressive nor used in evidence searches.

Brenda and Bill Tunnell purchased, owned and trained Bonnie and Barney, offering their services to Metro to help its search and rescue team. Barney has been on standby twice, but police found the people before he had the chance to be deployed. Cassell said Bonnie was progressing rapidly in her training and was expected to be certified as a search dog soon.

Arrangements for Bonnie were handled by the Craig Road Pet Cemetery.