Meet Phoenix Fire Department's Arson Detection Dog Sonny

PHOENIX, AZ — It's a dog-eat-dog world when it comes to being re-certified as an arson detection dog.

Take, for instance, Phoenix Fire Department's trusted arson dog, Sonny, who has been with the department for more than two years.

The lovable Labrador retriever breezed through his certification course Wednesday, at a recertification event sponsored by State Farm Insurance, ensuring his otherworldly snout is still up for the task of detecting propellants and other suspicious fire-starters.

Robby Simpson, who serves as a fire investigator for Phoenix Fire Department, is also tasked with training and keeping Sonny's senses up-to-snuff.

Simpson said that Sonny, who immediately took to flopping across the nearest bit of shade available, is indeed a good boy in the truest sense.

"When we’re on scene, he can cut a fire investigator’s time on scene by hours," Simpson said. "So by the time that an investigator collects all of his empirical data and decides when he wants to collect samples, that can take hours.

"Where with Sonny, we can search an entire house in minutes."

Simpson said that he and Sonny train four-to-six times a day, seven days a week, in order to perfect the yellow lab's smelling abilities.

A typical day for Sonny involves only being fed when he's training, Simpson said, so as to incentivize him to work hard.

Simpson said that when he's not on-call, Sonny is your typical four-legged friend.

"Sonny lives with us, he’s a part of our family. Once we get home, he turns into a big social goofball, which he is around the office also," Simpson said. "But everywhere that I go, he goes. So when we go camping, he’s camping. Two weeks ago he witnessed his first turkey hunt.

"He loves the water, he loves fishing. He absolutely loves snow, which is sort of a bummer being in Phoenix."

Based on the video alone, it appears that Sonny's training is paying off, and that he's living his best life.