10 months ago
YARMOUTH (NEWS CENTER) -- They look like your average labrador retrievers. But the six dogs being trained in Maine over the past month have a special skill.
They will soon be certified as accelerant detecting K-9's. The dogs are taking part in the Maine Arson Dog Training program. The program is sponsored by State Farm Insurance.
"The dollars lost due to arson are substantial," says Rich Pingeton of State Farm. "Even sadder is the loss of life. What we hope to do with this program is hopefully make an impact in that area."
Head trainer Paul Gallagher says he looks for dogs that are outgoing and want to work.
"One that's got a severe drive. That wants to work and wants to please. We look for dogs that are a little bit of a handful," says Gallagher.
Since 1993, the program has trained well over two hundred dogs.
Two and a half year old Honey is one of the dogs being trained in Maine this summer. Her "partner" is Jim Kanavy, a battalion chief with the Scott County Fire Department in Georgetown, Kentucky.
He says the training doesn't end when he and Honey get back home. It's constant and consistent.
"Monday through Friday," says Kanavy. "Saturday, Sunday, holidays, vacations. The dog is always with you."
They are trained using a praise and food reward system.
"As they sniff that can (of accelerant) we give them three or four kibbles at a time. They do seventy, eighty reps. They're happy. Their tails are wagging," says Paul Gallagher.
"We go in. We still investigate the fire for the origin and the cause. And if we've got questions once the area is being prepped and ready we bring the K-9's in and what they do is they actually show us where to take a sample if there happnes to be an ignitable liquid there" says John Southwell, an investigator with the State Fire Marshals Office in New Hampshire.
