Sadie, a 9-year-old black lab, officially retired on Saturday from a life of responding to fires and was returned to her original owner to "enjoy the dog days of summer."
As a member of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation Arson Dog Program, Sadie spent her career working with Jerry Means, a CBI Arson Investigator. Sadie has about 500 fires under her collar, sniffing out evidence of what could have started the blazes.
Sadie was originally purchased by Jerry as a gift for his daughter's 16th birthday.
Whitney, Jerry's daughter, remembers Sadie as a "little bowling ball," saying she was a heavy puppy. She also said the puppy was cautious and careful.
"When we first got her, we took her to PetSmart to get her a collar, and she didn't want to walk on the leash," Whitney laughed. "So I had to carry her."
When it came time for Whitney to go away to college, she and her dad sat down to talk about Sadie's future. Jerry would soon be retiring his first arson dog, and Sadie fit the profile to be in the program.
Whitney said she wanted Sadie to have something to do while she was away, so they agreed the dog would work with Jerry, and when Sadie retired, Whitney could have her dog back.
On Saturday, Whitney and her dog were together except when Sadie was being honored. Sadie was relieved of her badge, which hung from her collar, and Jerry gave her a kiss on the snout.
"No more work," Jerry told Sadie. "Just Animal Planet."
The CBI Arson dog program is funded by State Farm insurance. They provide the two to three months of training for each of the dogs — which is worth $25,000 per animal.
Heather Paul, the State Farm arson dog program coordinator, said that they do not buy their dogs from breeders, they get them from animal rescues and shelters. Many of the dogs in the program are rescued from being euthanized.
The program goes beyond law enforcement, according to Paul, it is a love affair between dog and handler.
The dogs in the program are with their handlers all the time — they live in their handler's house, they sleep in the bed, they go on vacations with them and they are fed from their handler's hands.
Jerry said it is bittersweet to let Sadie go, and that it is hard to watch a dog step out of active duty.
"Sadie is OK with it," he said. "She never really cared to ride in the truck too much, she gets a little motion sickness, but she has fought through it in all these fires and now she just gets to be a dog."
Riley, a 2-year-old black lab, will be taking Sadie's place. He is the first male dog that Jerry has worked with and he said Riley is a handful.
The first time the two met, Riley had Jerry flat on his back in a matter of minutes and showered him with kisses.
Riley finished K-9 training in May and has already responded to about 20 fires.
"Every time I think of Sadie, I am extremely proud," Jerry said. "Riley has some big paws to fill."
Corrie Sahling: 303-954-1223, csahling@denverpost.com or http://ift.tt/TsQhmR
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