Saturday, August 30, 2008

in which I meet a Servant for the Public Good

Friends, acquaintances, and colleagues all know that I am a dog slut. I have to stop and say hello to every dog I meet. I work in the Pioneer Square area of Seattle, and there are lots of residences that it's quite common to see people walking their dogs. 

The other day, there were two ordinary looking gentlemen sitting outside of a cafe with a sweet looking black lab and I asked if I could pet her. One of the guys said yes, and so began puppy adulation while the guys continued their conversation. Then one of the guys handing me what looked like a baseball trading card, but it turns out that it was the dog's business card.

A business card for a dog? 

Yes, because the super friendly lab turned out to be none other than Henny, the Seattle Fire Department's Arson dog (and the guy who handed me the card was her handler, Lt. Baer). She's trained to sniff out "accelerants", chemicals like gasoline that are used to start arson fires.   

It must have been a day off duty, because Henny wasn't wearing her jacket and Lt. Baer wasn't in uniform. (I may be a dog slut but I won't bother service dogs. )

Here's a photo of her from her website

1 comment:

L J said...

Oh what a pretty working girl!