'I Couldn't Have Asked For A Better Partner': Nassau County K-9 Leah Retires From Fire Marshal's Office

NASSAU COUNTY, NY — K-9 Leah has served in the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office with K-9 Handler and Fire Marshal Matthew Kerin for nine years, with more than 600 fire investigations — and now, she's set to retire.

The 50-lb. yellow Labrador started her journey with a family in Ohio, and then began training to be a guide dog. She found her true calling in service as an "Accelerant Detection K-9" with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). She received 12 weeks of training and graduated from the program in 2016.

"I couldn't have asked for a better partner," Kerin said. "Everybody should have that kind of partner. Chuck's got some big paws to fill."

K-9 Leah and Fire Marshall and Handler Kerin became 1 of 70 ATF Nationally Certified K-9 Teams in the U.S., and members of the ATF's National Response Team.

While working in the Fire Marshal's Office, Leah has served her Long Island community across the fire and police departments of Nassau County and Suffolk County. Her investigations have also taken her past Long Island, all over the tri-state area.

Her retirement ceremony was on Nov. 25, and her successor is K-9 Chuck.

He explained that the service dogs, including Leah and Chuck, are actually owned by the government, until he received the transition of ownership form for Leah.

"She's always been my dog, though," he said. "They'd have to fight my three daughters if we didn't get to keep her. She's part of the family. She and Chuck live with me 24/7. They go home with me. They go everywhere I go."

The Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office has been involved with this program for more than 30 years. Each K-9 generally works between eight to 10 years old. Leah is ten and a half years old– her birthday is in March.

On how he got involved in being a handler, Kerin said the department was looking for a replacement because the previous handler was retiring and already had two K-9s, Abby and Umi.

Kerin said that Leah's been involved in more than 600 investigations, and not all are arson-related– sometimes they are accidental fires. Her job is to alert the team.

Kerin recounted Leah's original training as part of the Guide Dog Foundation– Leah and her sister, Lola, were both being trained through the program, but Leah pulled on the leash too much, whereas Lola graduated from the program.

"Two agents flew out from D.C. to Ohio and had a little tug of war over her," he said. "One wanted her to go into a bomb dog program, and the other one for the fire service. Luckily for me, the fireside won, and she went into the training that the ATF provides.

Her training included six weeks with the ATF's in-house trainers and then six weeks with me as my partner.

"Unlike normal dogs, she doesn't eat out of a dogbowl," he said. "Their program was based on a food-reward program, so she was very food-motivated. Even to this day, she eats like that."

Kerin said he still brings her into the office to try and ease the adjustment to retirement, since it can be difficult for a dog: "they're used to going 100."

Every year, the ATF has a recertification where they ensure the dog is healthy and still trained properly, he explained. Every year, it's at a different place throughout the country, so Leah has traveled far and wide across the nation. One year it was San Diego, another South Dakota, another New Orleans.

"When we check in at the airport, I show her official government ID," he said. "She's been in the cockpit, she meets the flight crew, and she's jumped right up in the co-pilot seat before, and they take selfies with her. They love it when she's on board because she sits right with me in the cabin."

During these yearly ATF recertifications, he explained, it takes place over the course of about seven to 10 days with different sessions each day. They have discussions and vet check-ins in case there are any injuries. Then, there is informal testing, which is basically an in-house competition amongst all the handlers in the ATF program throughout the country.

Currently, there are 70 teams in the country. Whoever passes these tests to certain levels gets designated as 'top dog.' He shared how proud he is of Leah and her achievements.

"In 2018, Leah was 'top dog' in the country out of everyone," he said. "We got a plaque and a proclamation from the county executive at the time. It was pretty amazing."

Now, Kerin is the handler of a new K-9 for the Nassau County Fire Marshal's Office, Chuck. This black Labrador was part of the Puppies Behind Bars training program. These dogs would stay in a jail cell with inmates as part of rehabilitation for the inmates. The inmate would teach the dog basic skills as part of their training.

After graduating from Puppies Behind Bars, 62-lb. Chuck continued to the Suffolk County Fire Marshal's Office. The jet black Labrador turned four years old in July.

Chuck's handler quit the agency he was at, and Leah was retiring, so Chuck "took the reins."

Kerin said he has another dog at home as well, so now he has three dogs, even with the age differences.

"You would think that Leah and Chuck were born together, brother and sister," he said. "They're very playful."

Long Island has three K-9s from the ATF program.

"We respond to anywhere that somebody would call us, anywhere in the tri-state area," he said. "We're on call; if we need to go anywhere in the country, we respond."