LOWELL — As the first and only bloodhound in the Lowell Police Department’s K-9 Unit, Anna Mae Hope — known simply as Hope — spent about 12 years tracking missing people and sniffing out fleeing criminal suspects.
During that time, Hope was involved in more than 100 tracks throughout the city and she was used in dozens of educational demonstrations at area schools and nursing homes.
Simply put, she had a long and successful career with the department, said Lowell Police Lt. Stephen Gendreau, who was partnered with Hope for her entire career with the department.
“She was a great partner,” he said.
Oct. 31 was Hope’s last day with the Lowell Police Department, as the 90-pound droopy faced bloodhound — just six months old when she started training for the job — was officially retired from the force.
Twelve years is a long time in dog years, shown by the graying fur that’s grown in around Hope’s face and muzzle.
“She’s getting older,” Gendreau said. “But it’s good. She’ll be home with myself and my family.”
Hope resides in her old partner’s home — which is also where she spent her working years when she wasn’t searching for people and riding around in Gendreau’s cruiser.
Going from partner to pet, Gendreau describes Hope as family.
“For 12 years, I would get up to go to work and she would be right there ready to go,” Gendreau said. “She would come home with me and be with me on my days off. It was 24/7.”
Before Hope, the Lowell Police Department used only German shepherds in its K-9 Unit. According to Gendreau, after receiving positive input about bloodhounds from the Billerica Police Department, leadership in Lowell decided to bring a new breed of dog in to help the department out.
“It was an overall win for the city,” Gendreau said.
Gendreau was successful in his application to be partnered with the new K-9, which received her name from then second-grader Evelyn Lally, a student at Joseph G. Pyne Arts Elementary School.
Gendreau and Hope spent about six weeks of initial training together before she was certified to be an authentic police canine.
The bond grew over the 12 years, Gendreau said. The pair had many experiences together, including locating a lost autistic teenager in Billerica after she fled from her care provider.
In what Gendreau describes as among the most memorable displays of teamwork, the pair located an elderly man with dementia in a wooded area at night, during the winter. The man was found in just his pajamas in the bitter cold. The situation could easily have turned tragic, Gendreau said.
Though these might be Hope’s golden years, she is still ready to get to work each morning. Gendreau said he gets up, and puts on the uniform, and Hope is right by his side expecting to follow him out the door.
It may take time to break free from the old routine.
“There’s usually someone home, so she has company,” Gendreau said. “We make sure to take her for walks a little more.”
As for time at the office without his usual partner, Gendreau seems to be taking it well.
“It’s definitely different,” the police lieutenant said.
“I’ve always been an animal lover,” he added. “I’ve always had a bond with dogs, and different pets throughout my life, so obviously I grew fond of my partner.”
Gendreau, a 24-year veteran of the Lowell Police Department, currently has no plans to pursue handling another canine with the department.
There are currently no definitive plans to replace Hope on the K-9 Unit.
Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis