WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) -- The clock starts ticking as soon as someone is reported missing. The first 48 hours are critical to the investigation, and most people are found within that time frame. The Winston-Salem Police Department now has a new resource: a super-sleuthing snoot to help sn iff out a missing person quickly. His name is Bocephus, and he’s an eight-month-old bloodhound. The WSPD has an average of 878 missing people reports a year or about 73 a month. Currently, there are 32 active missing persons cases. Bo is undergoing specialty training for his career in law enforcement under the guidance of Sergeant Matthew Hatch, who has almost two decades of police K-9 experience. “After working my first dog, it became a bigger dream of mine to stay on the unit,” Hatch said. Hatch said there's a special bond between a handler and their dog. “You spend more time with the dog than you do your family almost because it comes to work with you for a 10-12 hour shift, four days a week,” Hatch said. A FOX8 crew watched Bo work at the Winston-Salem fairgrounds. He first found some food he sniffed out about a football field away from his starting point. Bo is learning to search for people as well. “Ideally, you want some type of clothing or scent article. It doesn’t have to be clothing. It could be a wallet, a driver’s license, a set of keys or where they were last,” Hatch said. “We let the dog smell that. He will catch the odor. We take him out and cast him, and he will track that odor to follow it to where they’re at.” Bo was acquired through grant funding and goes home at night with Hatch, who previously trained and worked with German Shepherd police dogs. “This biggest reward is finding missing people,” Hatch said. Bo is expected to be ready to hit the streets in about two months just shy of his first birthday. ...read more read less