A service dog and his handler were sworn in on Thursday in Howard County.
Sowell, an Arson Accelerant Detection canine, and his handler, Lieutenant Craig Matthews, are now members of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. Sowell and previous canines were provided through a grant from State Farm insurance.
"Sometimes its very hard for our investigators to actually pinpoint and identify what the cause of a fire may be, so we'll use canine Sowell or any other accelerant detection canine in the state to scan and sniff a room, a vehicle, a person, evidence to see and detect if there's any ignitable liquids there," said Lieutenant Craig Matthews.
The team will be used as a regional asset and may travel to outside jurisdictions to provide services.
