First State Fire Marshal explosive detection dog passes away at age 13; completed more than 1,400 missions before retiring

Dodger’s Career Statistics:

Missions: 1,438

Demonstrations: 287

Finds: 387

Citizens Served: 15,575,923

DGKN staff report

COLUMBUS Dodger, an explosive detection canine for the State Fire Marshal Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau, made one last visit to the SFM Reynoldsburg campus this week to receive ‘good boys,’ ‘thank yous,’ and a fond farewell from his SFM family prior to passing away Feb. 8 at age 13.

“Dodger had been the backbone of our canine program for years,” Kevin S. Reardon, State Fire Marshal, said in a news release. “This is a tremendous loss and we will certainly miss Dodger but he will live forever in our hearts.”

Dodger was born in Ohio and was rescued from the greater Cincinnati area before starting his career in November 2010 to become the first State Fire Marshal Explosive Detection Canine.

Dodger was trained to detect many different types of explosives, firearms, and post-blast debris and supported missions with Homeland Security and other law enforcement functions throughout Ohio. During his career, Dodger assisted in several bomb threats, protection details, evidence searches and pre-event sweeps. Upon retirement, Dodger lived at his home in Blacklick, Ohio with his handler, Ron Stemen and his family.