September 19, 2001
Kim sniffs out work of arsonists around the state
Canine also trained in search and rescue
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Being northwest Michigan's only certified arson-accelerant dog, Kim revels in his work.
A Belgian Malinois Shepherd, Kim and handler Brad Thomas work together to detect arson at fire scenes or, using Kim's search and rescue training, find a lost person. Members of the Elmwood Township Fire Department's investigation team, Thomas and Kim have traveled around the state to perform their duties, for both private insurance companies and other fire departments.
For Kim, it is a dog's life.
"Kim loves to work, he is very geared to work," Thomas said. 'His behaviors are such that without the work to do he gets hard to handle."
Thomas loves the work almost as much as Kim and dreams of someday being a full-time work dog trainer and handler.
"Working with Kim is like being paid to play, though it is very serious business," he said. "Working with the dogs is very satisfying; it is quite something to take a dog like Kim, with the attributes they have to do this and watch them develop."
Kim has become a fixture with the department in the two years since he and Thomas came on board. In fact, his wagging presence is missed whenever Thomas does not bring him to meetings.
"They always ask, 'Where's Kim?' said Thomas, who plans to pursue his Emergency Medical Technician certification this fall. "I'm just his chauffeur."
Thomas trained Kim himself and works with him at least five hours a week to keep his skills sharp. He puts him through a varied regimen every week and Kim, at just over five years old, has at least five years of work ahead of him.
When working, Kim is in a harness and will sit and indicate with his head or paw when he detects one of the chemicals he has been trained to find. Thomas said working in buildings after a fire could be hazardous because of broken glass or structural damage, but he and Kim are cautious.
Thomas works with the Belgian Shepherd breed over the more well-known German Shepherd because they are very intelligent, have an excellent work ethic and are not as prone to hip problems. These dogs tend to be smaller and have a reddish colored coat, though they do have some of the Shepherd markings and look.
Kim, who stays in a kennel during the day while Thomas is at work, does come in every night to sleep.
"You forget how intelligent they are because you see them every day," Thomas said.
Thomas began training dogs when he was a teenager. For years, he trained his own pets and other people's dogs.
Four years ago he got serious about his hobby and decided to train work dogs. He hooked up with Mid-Michigan Kennels in Eaton Rapids and completed certification to become a K9 trainer for search and rescue, tracking/lost person, accelerant detection and protection.
After founding his own company, K9 Works, three years ago, Thomas has trained and placed a few dogs around the country. Thomas had an explosive detection dog with him for a while before he sold it and currently has a trained narcotics detection dog living at home. He has contacts in Europe and around the United States to find dogs, which he prefers to purchase after they are a year old.
While he still works a full-time job at Addiction Treatment Services and also offers general obedience training classes for pet dogs, his heart lies with the working dogs.
"It is a highly competitive field and it definitely takes a lot of time to train a dog," said Thomas, who also works with a search and rescue team based in Madison Heights. "I have had some great mentors, people I owe a lot to, including here at the Elmwood Township Fire Department."