Those attending the Dublin City Council meeting in June got to meet a much-lauded arson investigator who ran in after the meeting and started sniffing everybody.
The investigator is a 6-year-old goldador (labrador/ golden retriever) named Sheldon, who works alongside Dublin EMS Director John Tadlock in his work as the Saginaw Fire Department Battalion Chief/fire investigator.
Although Sheldon is owned by the city of Saginaw, his services are provided through mutual aid to eight counties when needed.
Sheldon and Tadlock have taken part in over 100 fire investigations since they went to work together at the end of April 2018. “He stays pretty active in Erath and Hood County,” Tadlock said of his four-legged partner.
Sheldon was originally destined for a different life as his litter was adopted into Paws with a Cause, which trains service dogs.
However, his service days were ended by the ‘other white meat.’
“He ate a pork chop off the counter,” Tadlock reported.
This act showed he didn’t have the right temperament to be a guide dog so he was checked as a career change dog and Maine Specialty Dogs found he had the aptitude to be an arson dog. (It seems to be in his blood as there are three arson dogs from his litter and one service dog.)
State Farm Insurance sponsors arson dogs all over the nation, helping provide them to areas in need of their unique prowess.
Saginaw agreed to sponsor one for the area and Tadlock agreed to partner and house the canine.
“It’s really interesting the way they pick dogs for handlers,” he said. “They visit with you about your home life and select a dog that will fit.”
“We hit it off right off the bat,” he added. “Sheldon’s never met a stranger. He bonded with my family right away.”
Tadlock and Sheldon spent a month in New Hampshire training with much of it devoted to Tadlock learning how to work and communicate with Sheldon.
Through the training, the pair worked through different fire scenes with planted evidence.
Tadlock said Sheldon is very capable in his work, going into burned buildings and pointing to the source of the fire.
His work caught the attention of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2020 and that story led to many interested reporters and organizations. “Sheldon’s been on Newsweek, the Today Show, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Rush Limbaugh and People Magazine,” Tadlock said, list just a few of the places he’s been featured. Sheldon’s story even hit other countries like France and Australia.
“Most people don’t understand there are dogs that do this kind of work,” he continued. “The dogs are just incredible in what they can do.”
Their first day on the job, Sheldon found Molotov cocktails at a site being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Tadlock remembers being particularly impressed by Sheldon’s performance when investigating an apartment that had burned. Law enforcement agencies were having trouble identifying a suspect until Sheldon got on the scene and led Tadlock to some bushes nearby. It was there that they located a baseball cap with gasoline on it. Investigators were able to trace DNA of the suspect from sweat on the hat.
For all of this hard work, Sheldon is rewarded with his food. Arson dogs are actually only offered food as a reward so Tadlock keeps a pouch of food and a little bit off accelerant for him to find.
“He always eats out of my hand, not a bowl,” Tadlock said.
“We train one to six times a day,” he added. “This [feeding system] gives arson dogs the drive to succeed. Dogs that operate on that program tend to be pretty healthy.”
Tadlock said they travel in an RV a lot and do a lot of training in RV parks. “It usually draws a crowd,” he said of the drills.