Meet Arlo, the Butler Bureau of Fire’s new dog
It was a warm Friday morning when Arlo made his journey from the Butler County Humane Society to his new home, the Butler Bureau of Fire.
Arlo is a mixed breed estimated to be about 1 year old by the humane society, his former caregivers. He was officially adopted by the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 114 on Friday, June 13, after receiving approval from the city to house him at the station.
Firefighter Dean Selfridge explained that he and a few other firefighters first met Arlo at a YMCA event a few months ago, and two days later, the bureau was moving to adopt him.
Selfridge said Arlo will serve as an emotional support animal for members of the department as part of a movement toward recognizing and encouraging mental health.
“We had discussions for a couple of years about (getting a dog),” Selfridge said. “Obviously, with the world of fire and EMS with (post-traumatic stress disorder), that’s a big thing. Our international (union) is trying to help mitigate that.”
Selfridge also sees Arlo as a shift in the bureau’s culture, as it has been decades since the bureau had a firehouse dog. It would also be a shift to community relations, as Selfridge expressed hope that Arlo could serve as a face for the bureau.
“We think he’s going to build another avenue of community relations with Butler,” Selfridge said. “Once we get him ready to see the public, that’s going to get people into the firehouse, meet the firefighters and meet him. We can also talk about fire prevention.”
Matthew Wilson is a trainer from Hounds for Honor, a nonprofit dedicated to training dogs for first responders and veterans. He said that Arlo has some basic training already, but still needs some work on obedience.
“He’s going to go through a bunch of different phases,” Wilson said. “The very first thing that we’re going to start working on is just some general socialization work. Then, we’ll start with some basic obedience work.”
Arlo will receive different training, such as how to handle crowds and how to be comfortable on a leash. He also will receive specialized training that will get him to automatically go into a crate when a call comes in.
“Right now, obviously, it’s like a huge transition,” Wilson said. “Dogs are really big on schedules, so going from being wherever he was and then going to a shelter and having a huge uproot with his daily routine and then coming here, it all causes a lot of stress.”
In his first days at the bureau, Selfridge said he heard no serious complaints about Arlo’s behavior, and that everyone was excited they have him.
“He’s a joy to be around,” Selfridge said. “He’s obviously young. He’s still wanting to play. He seems to tell us when he wants to go outside already. He hasn’t, knock on wood, gone in here.”
When the firefighters union first proposed getting a dog, city officials were concerned with liabilities and training. To respond, firefighter Dave Greco and other members of the bureau came to the May 29 city council meeting to state their case.
After hearing Greco speak, council decided it would bring a memorandum of understanding between the city and union to a vote as soon as possible. That decision was made Thursday, June 12, when council voted 4-1 to allow Arlo to live at the station.
While Arlo still has a long way to go in terms of his training, the city’s firefighters are excited to have a new friend at the station and to bring him to events when he is ready.
