The newest member of the Greensburg Fire Department is just 8 weeks old, so fire officials said it will be at least several months before PITA can be deployed into the field.
Elysia Battistella, a handler with the fire department’s 52-year-old bloodhound team, announced PITA has arrived in Greensburg and will begin training Sunday to start her career, “which, hopefully, will be a long and successful one,” Elysia wrote on the bloodhound unit’s Facebook page.
Battistella and her father, Lou, who is captain of the bloodhound unit, drove to Chambersburg on Friday to pick up the female pup.
When the pair returned to Greensburg, they immediately introduced PITA to two veteran bloodhounds — 7-year-old Delphie and her sister, 6-year-old Darcy, Lou Battistella said.
“They quickly accepted her,” he said.
The fire department’s bloodhound team started in 1969 as 12 volunteer firemen and two dogs. It has grown to over 15 volunteer firemen with seven active bloodhounds. The team belongs to the National Police Bloodhound Association, a national organization that was started by the Connecticut and New York State Police in 1962.
The unit often is called to assist law enforcement in the region in tracking down escaped criminals or holdup suspects. They also help search for missing persons from institutions, nursing homes and senior care living facilities, as well as Alzheimer patients and children, according to its webpage. The unit has responded to incidents in Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia, in addition to locations throughout Pennsylvania.
“PITA will certainly have big paws to fill,” Lou Battistella noted.
Sophy, an 11-year-old veteran bloodhound who was handled by Elysia, died in June after an extended illness.
During Sophy’s service, she took part in 111 deployments, assisting area fire departments and law enforcement agencies, concluding with her final response May 17.
Sophy was a treasured family pet for Battistella and her two young children in Hempfield.
Lou Battistella said initial training will entail becoming familiar in the field with the other bloodhounds. From there, training will become more entailed, he said.
“We’ve had some dogs deployed into the field after just nine months” he said.
More information on the team is available at gbgfire.com.
