She's an Officer and a Canine

Fire Investigator Sniffs Out Evidence

She's a rookie with the Loudoun County Fire Marshal's Office, having arrived in March. But already she has sniffed out 17 key pieces of evidence in 13 fires that accounted for $2.3 million in damage, authorities say.

Her name is Jimmy.

Just Jimmy.

Because dogs don't usually have last names.

"Jimmy has just been a tremendous asset to our department," said her partner, Assistant Fire Marshal William "Bud" Herndon.

The Fire Marshal's Office recently issued a news release about Jimmy, trumpeting her crime-fighting heroics and, in these budget-conscious times, praising an animal adoption center's pledge to provide free food and veterinary care to the 21-month-old for the rest of her life.

The free munchies suit the 58-pound Labrador retriever just fine, Herndon said last week with a chuckle, because when Jimmy's not nosing around smoky crime scenes, she's on the prowl for her next treat.

"Jimmy's very outgoing, yet she conserves her energy very well, if you can read between the lines," he said. "I mean, she's a little lazy! But when she sees the [food] pouch and knows she's going to be rewarded, it's a different ballgame."

She's a food-reward dog, which means she doesn't get treats until she locates what she has been asked to find. With two daily practice sessions, her human partner keeps her busy.

"I hide things for her to find in houses, cars, schools, cracks in sidewalks," said Herndon, 28. "I might put a single drop of an ignitable liquid on the ground, and she'll find it. I might put a drop of gasoline on a rock, and she'll find it."

The Fire Marshal's Office on Cornwall Street in downtown Leesburg operates three canine units. Jimmy is the accelerant detection, or arson, specialist. Shadow, a black Lab, is the explosives detection guru. And Grace, a bloodhound, trails scents; she's often on the hunt for bad guys.

Jimmy began her young career with Guiding Eyes for the Blind, a New York-based nonprofit guide dog school. From there she went to Puppies Behind Bars, a program in which prison inmates in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are assigned to raise puppies that will later work for law enforcement agencies or as service dogs for people with disabilities.