Sheriff Patrols up in Storey County are looking a bit different.

Storey County Sheriff Mike Cullen, who started in January, has implemented a horse mounted unit with the help of deputies who have years of experience as mounted police officers.

The Storey County horse mounted unit made an appearance at the Fourth of July on Comstock event in Virginia City.

Sheriff Cullen enlisted the help of Deputy Mike McCreary who spent about 20 years running the horse mounted program for the Sparks Police Department.

"It's one of the biggest and best things we've done in the last six months, these folks really love them. The horses are great in town and it just brings the cops and the kids and the community all together," said Storey County Sheriff Mike Cullen.

The program is starting from the ground up with Deputy Mike McCreary and Dan Snow using their own horses and supplies. 

"This is actually my wife's horse, she's gracious enough to let me bring him out and do this. And, we pay for everything: feed, shoes, vaccinations, anything that actually has to do with the horse, moneywise is on the deputies ourselves," said Storey County Deputy Sheriff Mike McCreary. 

The horse unit has some advantages in Storey County's mountainous terrain, which they can use for search and rescue operations. 

The horses are also ideal for getting through crowded streets like Tuesday's Fourth of July event in Virginia City.

"They say the horse is worth ten officers or ten deputies. And, we just have a really good vantage point. We can see. We're up eight feet above the crowd and we really see, and we're able to get around a lot better than a patrol car or side-by-side or anything like that," said McCreary.

Another advantage of the unit is that the horses are an excellent tool for community outreach, with people petting the horses and visiting with the mounted deputies all day on the Fourth of July. 

For more information and to donate, you can contact Deputy Mike McCleary at (775) 530-1738 or by email at: mmccreary@storeycounty.org