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Handler – Detective Douglas Lerner
Scooter, Rockland sheriff’s arson dog, dies
Rockland’s arson dog Scooter has died. The yellow Labrador retriever had been working fires with Detective Douglas Lerner since 2006. Sheriff Louis Falco said Scooter died last week after a brief illness. The law enforcement dog had been treated for an intestinal disorder but began to develop internal bleeding and the treatments were no longer effective, Falco said. “It was a pleasure having Scooter as part of our family and she will be missed around the building,” he said. “Scooter was a true professional,” Falco added. “She was happy to do her duty and worked diligently to help firefighters and detectives determine the cause and origin of fires.” Scooter had succeeded Hayley, a black Labrador retriever who became the county’s first arson dog in 2001 and had retired with her handler, Detective Joseph Guidice. Scooter joined the sheriff’s office in April 2006 with help from a State Farm Insurance grant. She had been abandoned on the streets and taken to a shelter, where a person identified her as a possible arson dog and sent her to Maine for training. Scooter’s main job was to sniff out accelerants at fire scenes, and she had responded to hundreds of fires over the past decade with Lerner. Scooter also assisted with investigations in Westchester and Orange counties. Scooter had been trained and certified by the Maine State Police, as well as by the New York State Academy of Fire Science K-9 Program.
