Meet Colorado's Newest Arson K9: VIDEO

Lakewood CO

21 May, 2021

9:57 AM

Description

One of Colorado's top arson investigating teams has welcomed its newest member, K9 JoJo, an accelerant detection specialist. The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control wasted no time in putting her to work — she's already investigating the cause of some fires in our state. JoJo graduated Apr. 30 from the State Farm Arson Dog Training Program with her handler, Lead Fire Investigator Dawn Tollis. The pair responded to their first call May 9. "We are very excited about adding a K-9 Accelerant dog to our fire investigation capabilities," said Mike Morgan, Colorado Division of Fire Protection and Control director. "The scent-discriminating abilities of a canine are better than any equipment we can take to a fire scene when arson is suspected." Don't miss the latest news updates in Denver, Boulder, Arvada, Lakewood and Littleton. Sign up for free Patch news alerts and newsletters for what you need to know daily. JoJo is the fourth arson dog in active service in Colorado trained through the State Farm program. She and Tollis are heading on a demonstration tour for fire and law enforcement agencies to show them JoJo's exceptional accelerant detection abilities. "I am so very proud to be able to bring this valuable resource back to fire and law enforcement agencies across Colorado," Tollis said. "JoJo is a wonderful dog with amazing capabilities and we are really excited to get out and work with our stakeholders."