Red and Saxon are two fox-red Labradors who have joined the Service to support the team cracking down on arsonists across Hampshire and Isle of Wight by sniffing out ignitable liquids at crime scenes.
Bred by Kerdat Gundogs, the puppies were obtained by the Hampshire and Thames Valley Police Joint Operations Unit, whose close working relationship with HIWFRS saw them introduced to their new handlers Andy Earl and Graham Howlett.
The strong partnership between the Fire Investigation team and the Hampshire and Thames Valley Police JOU allows regularly shared training opportunities with specialist officers designed to improve the teams’ effectiveness and efficiency when conducting joint investigations.
Fire Investigation Officer Graham Howlett said:
“We are delighted to build upon our relationship with the Hampshire and Thames Valley Police Joint Operations Unit which has been in place some years now.
“This partnership helps us to bring offenders to justice and in turn protects the public from arson.
“The puppies will be put through their paces to ensure they have what it takes, but they will be supported all the way by our FI team and their fellow fire dogs.”
Fire Investigation Officer Andy Earl, said:
“Our search dogs are far more accurate at identifying ignitable liquids used at crime scenes than any electronic sampling device currently on the market.
“They save us time, make us more accurate and reduce the amount of expensive laboratory testing required, saving the taxpayer money.
“The dogs are also understandably incredibly popular with the public, helping us to engage with our communities and share our important fire safety messaging with people across Hampshire and Isle of Wight.”
The brothers will now undertake a 12-to-18-month development programme consisting of environment training and obedience, before they will be introduced to identifying target substances.
Once their training is completed, Red and Saxon will receive their certification and be let off the leash, working on crime scenes across Hampshire and Isle of Wight, and beyond to help put arsonists behind bars!
Red will live with his handler Andy and his family, along with fellow Fire Investigation Search Dog, Hoodie, an eight-year-old black Labrador. Sadly another of Andy’s dogs, Millie, who retired in 2020, died earlier this year.
Saxon, known affectionately as Saxon Jr or ‘SJ’, is named after handler Graham’s first ever fire dog, who joined the organisation back in 2006, retired in 2014 and sadly crossed the rainbow bridge in 2017. SJ will be based with Graham, joining FI Search Dog Eric, another eight-year-old black Labrador, and retired USAR dog, Harley.
Red and Saxon, along with Hoodie and Eric, are joined by five-year-old Springer Spaniel Louis, to complete the FI pack.
Chief Fire Officer Neil Odin said:
“It is great to welcome Red and Saxon, our new four-legged friends into the Service. I’m sure that they will be just as popular with our teams and the public as their colleagues, Hoodie, Eric and Louis.
“It is wonderful that Graham has passed on the name Saxon, in honour of one of our legendary fire investigation dogs, who is remembered fondly across our fire service family.”
“The puppies have two brilliant handlers in Andy and Graham, and they will be supported throughout their training by an award-winning team which does brilliant work to make Hampshire and Isle of Wight a safer place.”
Find out more about our incredible dogs on our website.
