Today, a gaggle of reporters were introduced to Sam, the Metropolitan Police Department’s new bloodhound. He was ready for his close up.

MPD Chief Cathy Lanier said Sam, who is the twenty-fourth dog to be given that name but the first bloodhound to join the force, came to the D.C. on August 14. He has been in training since he was eight-weeks-old, and he will turn two in October. The owner of five dogs herself, Lanier admitted that Sam, who greeted her for the first time with a hug and licks, is her favorite officer.

Lanier said Sam, who lives with his partner, Sergeant Johnnie Walter, has been dispatched twice thus far to locate critically missing persons. He is able to track days-old human scent for miles and even to the point where people enter vehicles.

The process of getting Sam began before autistic boy Michael Kingsbury went missing and was later found dead in July, according to Lanier. While she said the department calls in bloodhounds from other areas, Lanier did say, “I wish we had him several weeks earlier.”

To demonstrate Sam’s abilities, Lanier hid herself in a courtyard at the MPD headquarters. With the scent of her shirt, the bloodhound was able to quickly locate Lanier, who was near a bush and a dead bird.

Sam was extremely camera friendly and not a bit press shy, with Lanier joking, “See, I told you he wasn’t very smart.” Lanier said, because Sam is “so lovable,” he will likely become an ambassador for the department, with his own signed posters and baseball cards. “Maybe he’s our real McGruff,” Lanier added.