Canine Heroes

Canine Heroes
by
Mary Hjerleid

A hero comes in all shapes and sizes—and breeds. A recent article in the Denver Post described a ceremony held in Washington D. C. organized by Paws to Recognize, a group that celebrates service dogs. Some were search and rescue dogs, others were used to detect drugs and explosives, and some were used as part of a team that searched for victims in the World Trade Center. One important dog was missing from the group—arson detection dogs.

Of the 170 certified arson dogs around the world, one is making her mark. Her name is Erin, a four-year old, 77 lb. black Labrador retriever who spent nine months of training at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. Another five weeks of training with Agent Jerry Means, her partner and handler, followed. Together Jerry and Erin assist law enforcement and fire departments throughout the state of Colorado working for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Jerry is the only certified fire investigator at the Bureau; he and Erin have been solving arson crimes together for more than two years.

Dogs like Erin are trained to work around physical obstacles and discriminate scents of various accelerants used to set fires. All arson dogs are trained in the passive response, i.e., to sit on the odor, so as not to disturb any evidence at the scene. The dogs help reduce the number of samples that need to be collected and tested, thus saving time and money. Samples that are found serve as evidence in court, according to Jerry. What can take four to five hours for investigators can be handled with an arson dog in approximately five minutes.

After numerous emails, I met Jerry Means and Erin when he agreed to bring Erin to a meeting of the Colorado Romance Writers in Westminster, Colorado. What do arson dogs have to do with romance, you say? Well, I came across the use of arson dogs in helping to combat fires while I was doing research for my second novel, “Hearts on Fire. “ We frequently invite policemen, firemen, Navy Seal, people from all walks of life who give authenticity to our stories while learning some fascinating facts.

The heroine of my story is a female arson investigator and the hero is the Fire Marshal who is forced to work together to solve a series of arson-related fires.

Jerry and Erin came to our meeting and gave a demonstration. Jerry took Erin out of the room while he marked some of shoes of several writers with 50% evaporated gasoline. With Erin’s sensitive nose, she went right to the spot and “alerted.” Together they do 500 alerts a month. Each alert is considered training. The demonstration included some of the commands that are used such as “easy” and “down” through the floor. Once the fire is out, a safety check is done before going in. Jerry said that one of the biggest hazards in going to a fire scene is falling through the floor. “But if there are special hazards such as meth labs, chemicals, or collapse hazards, she’s not going in.”

One of the important aspects of Erin’s training is going to public schools and state fairs for fire safety training. Erin also has to be certified every year. Jerry gave us an example that after three months Erin can still smell the gasoline from an abandoned car. Erin seems oblivious to her contribution toward the more than 30 arson arrests with the Bureau.

Means said that he expects Erin’s career will last seven to ten years. And when it’s time to retire, Erin will become his pet.Jerry refers to Erin as a “remarkable dog.” Her friendly demeanor, her keen sense of smell and her retrieval drive are amazing. He describes Erin as a “regular” dog who lives with him and his wife, and Pete, a Rat Terrier who was her housemate.

One more thing, Jerry gave me permission to use the name “Erin” as the arson dog in my book. I told him I was honored. She and other arson detection dogs are truly “canine heroes.” A safety tip and personal message from Erin: “If in doubt, sniff it out.”