The Amazing Adventures of Archibald Esq.
Dog Duties: Accelerant Dogs
Now you know I’m a dog looking for a career… You know… Available as an artist’s model… a muse. Can also be hired as a consultant on all things doggish. And would not say bow wow to an offer of being some company’s noble mascot… Or even to feature in a pop video, like the lucky dachshunds who featured in that Graham Coxon video…
But not all canine careers are as glamourous as mine own aspirations. So how about this for a line of doggish work: being an ‘accelerant dog’. Sounds snazzy. Sounds fast. Speedy. But really it’s just another way of being a sniffer dog. But this time it’s not bedbugs, or even orca whale poop. No. This time it’s to sniff out the work of arsonists.
One such accelerant dog is ‘Flash’. The Virginia State Police donated a 3-year-old black Labrador named Flash in September 2007 to the Hampton Division of Fire and Rescue. Flash is an “accelerant dog,” meaning he can detect small traces - as little as parts per billion in the air - of petroleum-based fuels.
Properly trained dogs improve the chances fire investigators will find the sources of an arson fire. The sources are then confirmed through chemical analysis.
Flash, a black Labrador, has been certified as an accelerant dog. A dog with Flash’s skills is trained to detect and alert people to the presence of the smallest traces of petroleum-basedd fuels. These dogs give fire investigators a significantly greater chance of locating samples of ignitable liquids, which are confirmed by chemical analysis.
SuperWoof to all Working Dogs, whatever they may do! SuperWoof to the Dogs of the World!
Awoof! Archie
Posted 07 Apr 08
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