Kara Sprague’s forensic science class recently had a very informative visit from Detective John Peters of the Westchester County Police Department and Acorn, an arson detection dog.

Acorn is a black Labrador Retriever. Labs are known for their great dispositions and outgoing personalities. But they also have the superior ability to discriminate scents at a fire scene, which is why they are chosen to train for the State Farm Arson Dog Program. Acorn and Peters graduated in April.

Acorn was originally training with Paws with a Cause, an organization that provides service dogs to people with disabilities. However, Acorn’s insistence on sniffing everything got him booted from that program and made him a perfect fit for the arson dog program.

While on a scene, Acorn’s job is to alert Det. Peters to the location of an accelerant, such as gasoline or oil, that may have been used to start the fire.

The class loved meeting Acorn and hearing from Det. Peters about the work they do together.