COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two K-9s graduated from the Columbus Division of Fire’s Explosive Handlers Course alongside their partners Monday.
Firefighters Scott Daly and Elizabeth Finnegan both graduated next to their K-9 partners Newt and Norbert, who will now be put into service.
Finnegan is the first Black female explosive detection K-9 handler in the state. She said she's glad to have the opportunity to be a handler and partnered up with Norbert.
"One of the things that I told my chief when I got into the department is that I wanted to be an inspiration for young girls to make sure that they knew that this was a job they could do," Finnegan said. "To break this barrier and put my foot in the door here makes me really excited and really hopeful that someone can follow in my footsteps."
The K-9s were presented with a certificate of completion during the graduation at the Columbus Fire Station.
Newt is a 2-year-old male yellow Labrador and Norbert is a 15-month-old male black Labrador. Both were brought to the fire department by Pilot Dogs in Columbus.
Pilot Dogs is a local organization that provides trained guide dogs as well as orientation and mobility training. Norbert was trained and fostered by a student at The Ohio State University through a Pilot Dogs club offered on campus.
Finnegan said that one of their main responsibilities is sweeping events and big venues before people arrive to make sure it's secure.
"We do a lot of the events and stuff going on. The Arnold is coming up, so that's going to be our first big deployment," she said.
Newt's handler Daly said that he is now certified to work alongside the K-9 after completing a 10 to 12-week program together.
"Newt and I are very closely bonded. She's very sweet and very gentle," Daly said. "It's been a great match."