With over 16 years of combined service and 900+ searches, K9 Blue and K9 Veya were recognized for their dog-gone distinguished careers and honored by the LAFD Board of Fire Commissioners as they officially retired.

Accelerant Detection K9 Blue retires at nine years old with over seven years of service.  Trained by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), K9 Blue started in the "Puppy Behind Bars" program in New York. He lived with and was socialized by inmates who provide basic training to service dogs. The ATF purchased Blue and assigned him to the Accelerant Detection Program.  Blue was trained to detect a variety of ignitable liquids, even miniscule amounts, which are used to ignite fires. From the start, K9 Blue demonstrated high efficacy in his detection abilities and was partnered with his handler, LAFD Arson Investigator Gus Gaeta, because of the response needs in the LAFD.

K9 Blue responded to 753 calls for service just within the LAFD alone. He also assisted agencies across the region and nation.  His career took him to Alabama, Boston, Washington D.C., New Orleans, Puerto Rico, South Dakota and Washington. While retirement was nearing, K9 Blue showed no signs of slowing down at his most recent certification evaluation. In 2022, all 63 ATF K9s were tested in various scenarios and graded on their performance - K9 Blue was named "Top Dog" as the #1 ranked canine! 

While K9 Blue is a dedicated worker, he loves going home and enjoying his daily chew while soaking up the sunshine. During the summer, he loves baking himself in the hot sun and then jumping in the pool after a ball.  Sometimes a ball 'accidentally' rolls in and he eagerly seeks permission to fetch it out. Now, he'll get to spend much more time fetching those tennis balls!

As a Human Remains Detection (HRD) K9, Veya is trained to locate the odor of human blood, bone and tissue. The ability to traverse debris and quickly cover large areas makes HRD K9s the most cost-effective and efficient means of locating deceased victims. Research shows one detection K9 can be as effective as 20-30 human rescuers.

In 2013, K9 Veya became one of only a dozen FEMA certified HRD K9s and set off her 10 year career. In addition to over 100 calls for service within the LAFD, K9 Veya, with her owner/handler Firefighter Margaret Stewart, responded to searches for police and fire departments across the Los Angeles region to include the FBI and Naval CSI. In 2016, K9 Veya located four victims of an arson fire which were trapped and hidden in a collapsed commercial building.. Not only did she help to provide closure for the family of the missing, her work assisted in a five time murder conviction for the suspect. K9 Veya's consistent, thorough search established the HRD K9 as a valuable tool for incident commanders to ensure no victim is left behind after a structure fire

K9 Veya was deployed to the 2018 Montecito Debris Flow for a week and to the North Complex Fire in Butte County with Regional Task Force 9 which searched over 300 properties during the 12-day deployment. 

When not on a rubble pile, K9 Veya loves to dive...docking diving that is! After several years competing in dock diving events across SoCal (dogs race towards the end of a dock and jump for distance into a pool), Veya achieved the pinnacle of her career wining the National Championship for her division, jumping over 21 feet. She will enjoy her retirement exploring hiking trails and mountain lakes with her human.

The Los Angeles Fire Department is proud of the careers of K9 Blue and K9 Veya and wish them a long, happy and treat filled retirement.