20-05-2025
Hero dog honored after legendary career catching criminals: 'He's responsible for putting a lot of people in jail'
A heroic dog in Australia has been rewarded for his work in helping fire investigation teams and boosting the safety of his human co-workers.
Gandalf the detection dog is a more seasoned pup passing on his wisdom to the next generation of service animals — and now he has an award to prove he is indeed "a very good boy," as Australian Community Media (@australiancommunitymedia) highlighted on TikTok.
Australia's Fire and Rescue New South Wales announced in April that Gandalf, who has been with the department since 2018, was honored as the 2025 Canine Hero of the Year in the Service Dog category at the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Sydney Royal Easter Show.
The team credits Gandalf with fearlessly going into hazardous areas and quickly pinpointing how the fires started. His work means investigators spend less time in those fire-ravaged areas, which can contain toxic chemicals that threaten human health.
Gandalf is able to quickly identify fire accelerants, helping him find evidence in arson and homicide investigations.
"This award is a fitting tribute to the work Gandalf has done for our team and the community," Tim Garrett, FRNSW canine team leader, said. "Gandalf has an incredible ability to work through chaotic, post-fire environments and identify the smallest traces of ignitable liquids."
The veteran pup's work is all the more essential as Australia grapples with the effects of rising global temperatures. In 2020, as bushfires devastated southeastern Australia during "Black Summer," World Weather Attribution found that human activities associated with a warming climate — such as the burning of dirty fuels — had raised the country's bushfire risk by at least 30%.
While upgrading to energy-efficient appliances and unplugging wallet-draining "energy vampires" are among the ways to reduce the heat-trapping pollution you generate at home, Gandalf's nose remains a powerful deterrent for potential fire-starting perpetrators, as he has worked a number of high-profile arson and homicide cases.
"He's actually responsible for putting a lot of people in jail," an announcer honoring the canine noted during the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Sydney Royal Easter Show.
At the end of the year, Gandalf is retiring from the Fire Investigation and Research Unit. However, Siren, one of the veteran's mentees, is in the newest class of detection dogs.
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"He's been incredibly tolerant and patient with his new excitable sidekick, Siren," Garrett said. "He's passing the baton in the best possible way."
Gandalf's prize money from his Canine Hero of the Year award will go toward Fire and Rescue NSW's Beat the Burn — an event focused on raising funds for the burns unit at the Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation, per the department's Facebook.
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