Meet Keva, The IE Bloodhound Just Named One Of America’s Top Service Dogs

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, CA — A 3-year-old bloodhound K-9 unit just won one of the top national honors for her exceptional work finding missing people and supporting search-and-rescue efforts throughout the Inland Empire.

Keva, handled by Deputy Gabriel Jasso at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, was given the 2025 American Kennel Club Award for Canine Excellence (ACE) recipient in the Uniformed Service K-9 category, the department announced Tuesday.

The award recognizes outstanding K-9s working in law enforcement, military, emergency services and other public safety roles.

"Every mission relies on trust," Jasso said. "K-9 Keva gives everything to the job, and I'm honored to see that dedication recognized at the national level."

Keva and Jasso have been partners for about two and a half years, a spokesperson for the department told Patch. They first met when Keva was just 7 months old.

The pair have since become one of the agency’s most relied-upon scent-tracking teams.

"While a Dogue de Bordeaux might’ve been the star of the 1989 film 'Turner & Hooch,' Deputy Gabriel Jasso and his Bloodhound, K-9 'Keva,' are the stars of their Department in San Bernardino County," Melanie Haid of the American Kennel Club wrote in a release.

Jasso has always had an affinity for animals. Growing up, he had a Beagles and Rottweilers. In college, he had Bulldogs.

"I’ve had dogs my whole life. I can remember maybe six months of my life where I didn’t have a dog," he told the kennel club.

While he's owned many dogs, his first introduction to bloodhounds came with his first police dog, “Singe," who is now 8 years old and lives with Jasso, along with a 10-year-old Bulldog, “Lola,” and “Dottie,” a Labrador Retriever puppy.

“Four dogs, three kids … it’s never boring,” he told the AKC.

Keva has played a critical role in dozens of operations across the Inland Empire, including searches for missing children, elderly residents and people in crisis. Over the course of her service, she has helped find 47 missing persons, living up to her nickname, "The Fastest Nose In The West."

She earned that name after tracking down a fleeing suspect in roughly one minute during a stolen-vehicle investigation.

She has also assisted in homicide investigations and other major cases requiring precise scent detection.

“I still get amazed sometimes by how she does it, how scent works,” her handler said. “Obviously, it’s in their nature and what they’re bred to do, but it’s amazing that they can get from point A to point B, just based on something somebody touched.”

At home, his kids love Keva.

They refer to her as ‘my police dog,’ they don’t even refer to her by her name,” he laughed. “My son thinks I’m like ‘PAW Patrol,’ running around, saving the world.”

Although Keva brings joy to Jasso and his family, carrying the weight of those lost can take an emotional toll.

“I take it very seriously. It’s a scary situation when we deploy,” he said. “Every time, it’s often a life-or-death situation.”

The Sheriff’s Department said the ACE award underscores the essential contributions of K-9 units in large and diverse counties like San Bernardino, where dogs trained in scent work can often reach areas or detect trails that human searchers cannot. Officials also noted the significant time and effort invested by both the handler and the K-9 to maintain readiness for emergency callouts.

Keva and Jasso live in Rancho Cucamonga and are assigned to the department’s specialized K-9 detail. The pair will be formally recognized by the AKC as part of its annual awards program celebrating service dogs nationwide.

“I’m the crazy guy now at home and have jars with everybody’s scent,” Jasso said. “So if they ever go missing, Keva and I will find them.”