Dogs with jobs: Meet the Calgary Fire Department's accelerant detection dog

At just five-years-old, Willow is easily the youngest member of the Calgary Fire Department.

Despite her youth, the black labrador retriever has already worked on 120 investigations in the past two years.

Willow's partner is fire investigator Jodie Grisdale. They've been together for the last two-and-a-half years.

"Willow is an accelerant detection dog and we'll use her in fires that we deem potentially suspicious for an arson," said Grisdale. "But she's also extremely valuable when we don't really have a source of why the fires start, she can help us to rule out that there isn't any accelerant use to start the fire."

Willow the accelerant detection dog. Willow is the fourth dog to work for the fire department. Velvet was the first, followed by Honey, then Gibbs. The dogs trypically work five to 10 years before retirement.

"She comes to work with me spends her shift here in the fire hall, and then at the end of shift I get to take her home with me and she lives as a normal dog at home with my family," said Grisdale.

Willow was first being trained to help people with disabilities but she didn't pass her testing. She met up with Grisdale in New Hampshire where the two spent 200 hours in a course that trained the dog to sniff out minute traces of accelerants like gasoline and lighter fluid that may have been used to start a fire.

"She had already been imprinted on ignitable liquids, so really that month was spent me learning to work with her," said Grisdale. "She really taught me the ropes, and then we graduated, we got our certification and we came home and we hit the ground running."

Accelerant detection canines like Willow can discriminate between liquid accelerants and the chemical gasses at a fire scene with greater accuracy than electronic devices.

Jodie Grisdale and Willow the accelerant detection dog are shown in a handout photo from the Calgary Fire Department. According to the American Kennel Club, a dog's nose is at least 100,000 times more sensitive than a human's. Not only does it have more olfactory receptors, but the part of the brain that processes smells is seven times larger in dogs than in humans.

"One of the retired handlers said to me, 'really learn to trust your dog,'" said Grisdale. "That's been one of the biggest lessons. I'm an animal lover, a dog lover, but I get what he means, those dogs know their job."

Carol Henke is the department's public information officer and says Willow is another tool in CFD's toolbox to determine the cause of a fire.

"Willow increases the efficiency and the effectiveness of investigations," said Henke. "Not only that, what an amazing ambassador for the fire department, I mean, you can tell when Willow's in the office at fire headquarters because you hear these 'oohs' and 'ahhs' and everyone's voices get higher."

Willow the accelerant detection dog is shown in a handout photo from the Calgary Fire Department. Grisdale has been with CFD for 15 years and started fighting fires, moved into fire inspector and now is a fire investigator with Willow.

"I could never have dreamed of being with the Calgary Fire Department and working with a canine," she said. "That, to me, is the ultimate dream job, and to be in this position is a real honor, I feel very fortunate."