New Hampshire

Dogs, Too, Have Rewarding Careers with State Farm

Andre, a certified arson dog trained to sniff out accelerants used in starting fires, was celebrated as the newest member of the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office in Concord in 2010.

K-9 Andre and his handler, District Chief John Southwell, showcased their talents with a live demonstration at the event, which also honored retiring K-9 Jade, who Andre replaces.

“It was a changing of the guard between Jade and Andre,” says State Farm Public Affairs Specialist Doug Nadeau. “Over her eight years of distinguished service, Jade investigated more than 400 fire scenes. Now she gets to be a normal dog again, a household pet.”

Jade’s arson dog career began when she was rescued from a shelter and trained by Maine Specialty Dogs.  For Andre, this is a second profession. “Andre was seeing-eye dog whose owner died,” Doug explains.

Since 1993, State Farm has been a sponsor of the Arson Dog Program, available to fire departments and law enforcement agencies. “New Hampshire was among the first states to take advantage of the program,” Nadeau says, “and has been working with State Farm for more than two decades.”

Last fall, Southwell was partnered with Andre, who has already investigated about 45 fire scenes.

“We can’t quantify how many lives they’ve saved,” says Doug, “or how many arsonists they’ve deterred.  We’re grateful to all of our arson dogs for this great service to the public.”