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The second member to join the OSP Arson/Explosives canine team was a young Golden Labrador named, Kent. Based in Central Point, Kent and his handler, Detective Mo Austin, completed their training in April of 1998 and, together, have been assisting law enforcement and fire service agencies in seven Souther Oregon counties ever since.
Kent became an arson dog after failing program for the Guiding Eyes for the Blind in New York City. As a puppy, Kent was intended to be a guide dog, but his friendly nature kept him from graduating. "He was easily distracted," Austin said. "If he found another dog or person, he´d go meet them, dragging the poor blind person behind." So another career path was chosen.
During their training in Virginia, Kent proved he was no dummy. He fugured out early on that if he pointed at something, he got fed. So, he started pointing out a lot of things, whether they were accelerants or not, thinking he could get fed more. But, his trainer was no dummy, either. Part of the training was learning to read the dog. Austin said, "I learned when he was working and when he was just playing.
By the time their five weeks were up, everything had come together like clockwork. As an Accelerant Detective Canine, Kent found his calling. He has proven his worth many times over. When investigators weren´t sure what caused a fire or when they thought a fire was accidental, Kent has been able to detect accelerants at the scene, helping to bring the criminal to justice.
Kent has proved quite popular with the citizens of Central Point, and you can frequently find articles about him in local papers. He has many friends at the State Police offices. "He´s got 60 friends around here." Austin said. "He´s got to say hello to every one of them every day."
Editor´s Note: Kent retired from service in April of 2004.
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