It's amazing really (not).
Some of these folks up here haven't yet discovered the cause of reproduction(human or animal), and one can visit a local animal shelter and walk out with some fine Blueticks, Redbones, Walkers and Black and Tans.
I was at the shelter a few weeks ago when some local rabbit hunters came in looking for some beagles. There were lots of beagles, and a LOT of good looking hounds in there, waiting to be gassed. One bluetick pup caught my attention: a beautiful speciman of that breed.
I ended up with an old man (labrador), riddled with arthritus, teeth worn to nubs, and now just as spoiled and demanding as the girl in the picture. They didn't even make me pay the adoption fee (Gee I must be famous or good looking or something, NAW).
Good hounds will keep bears, and other wildlife from becoming public nuisences/dangers. In fact, some wildlife agencies have actually tried using hounds to "untame" bears causing problems in some northern states.
If your friend lets her hound out, and he is a good tracking, striking, or trailing dog, he'll be long gone.
Tracking collars have been used here for a LONG time. I know a guy who sued the National Park Service (Great Smoky Mountains) and ended up with a settlement because a park employee (and AR activist getting paid with our tax dollars) took his dog's collar off, threw it aside, and gave the dog to some park visitors who couldn't stand the thought of dogs actually being subjected to "hunting, blood sports."
The dog had crossed the line between public land and the Cherokee Indian reservation, where Cherokees can hunt without a license. etc. The federal employee was moved out of this area quickly, fired, whatever.
Of course he did the right thing - called the number on the tag taped to the inside of the collar - that dog had run MILES from home. He happily leaped into my friend's truck-crate for the ride back home.
I've done the same thing for wandering dogs that show up at my house. Our across-the-street neighbor came walking over one evening holding onto the collar of a large, leaping Chocolate Lab. He said, "I found your dog in my yard." I said, "Well, that's about twice the size of my dog, and it's male." Oh, well. The tag on his collar had his name, a family name, and a Tampa FL address. Well, he was well-fed, had long nails, and his pads were soft and smooth, so he obviously hadn't come from Tampa! We put him in the back yard with our dog (she quickly convinced him that she was the Queen of the House, but he was fine with that, bowed and smiled and danced attendance on her) while I looked up families with that last name in a two-mile radius and called them to see if they had lost a dog. I got lucky on call number 3 (it wasn't a really common name) and drove him home. We had to have a little preliminary leash and obedience work first though . . . poor baby was not trained at all, but very willing and happy to learn.
A week later I looked out the window, and there he was sitting and smiling, barked in a friendly way when he saw me. "Got any more of those training treats? Those were good! And I like your little lady dog too." Little lady dog was like, "What! You back again? You're not living in MY house no matter how much you want to, buddy."