After working 500 cases that led to 74 arrests in four states, Iris will be retiring from the Anne Arundel fire department at the top of her profession. And for her hard work, the county has a fine reward ? a bone.
Iris, a 70-pound black Labrador, will end her career next month as the county?s first and only accelerant dog, one of 71 in the nation whose job is to help in arson cases.
“Dogs like Iris are an important tool in investigations … and can pick up scents that we could never do,” said Doug Wilson, Iris? handler and a 35-year veteran of fire investigation.
Some major cases she worked include two fire bombings in Baltimore and a Washington-area serial arsonist.
Iris sniffs out 17 different types of chemicals, like gasoline and kerosene, used to start fires.
Iris works on a food reward system ? she only eats when she finds accelerant. She notifies Wilson by sitting down and pawing at the source. When not working cases, Wilson does 70 to 80 exercises with Iris to keep her fed and her skills acute.
But Iris turns 9 in February, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives does not re-certify dogs at that age.
Wilson pushed for an accelerant dog in the 1980s, but he and Iris paired up in April 2001 at the ATF training facility in Front Royal, Va. Iris coincidentally was born in Edgewater and came to the ATF after failing seeing-eye dog school in Massachusetts.
County Executive John R. Leopold gave Wilson a citation honoring his service, and Iris a bone during a ceremony Friday.
A new recruit is expected tostart in October at the fire department, said Battalion Chief Michael Cox. Four other accelerant dogs work in the state.
Wilson will be retiring, and the two will move to Myrtle Beach, S.C., where Iris will learn how to be a regular dog.
“I?ve been putting out a bowl of food for her every morning, and for two days, she just stared at it,” Wilson said.
