Rest in peace: Scrappy the fire dog passes away after six years of keeping communities safe

A hard-working fire investigation dog who suppored County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service has passed away after a deterioration in his health.
Scrappy on the job in 2016.Scrappy on the job in 2016.
Scrappy on the job in 2016.

Scrappy, who died on Tuesday, June 18, said farewell to his work as a fire dog in July last year after six years of loyal service.

He began his fire and rescue service career when he was less than 12 months old and rightfully retired when he was 47 in dog years. 

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service thank Scrappy for his loyal service to the communities.County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service thank Scrappy for his loyal service to the communities.
County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service thank Scrappy for his loyal service to the communities.
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Scrappy had an amazing sense of smell. It was said to be more accurate than technology as Scrappy could detect ignitable substances, which may have caused fires, to greatly help the crews with their work.

Scrappy also supported trainees when they started the job including Woodie, a Springer Spaniel, who joined the team in October 2017 after intense training. 

He was the only dog in the UK to hold a Diploma; Teesside University awarded Scrappy an Honorary Diploma in Hydrocarbon Detection in 2013.

The job wasn’t always easy though.

After an accident at a demonstration in October 2016, he needed an operation to fix his badly-broken leg.

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Brave Scrappy underwent a four-hour long operation, but after four weeks of bed rest and hydrotherapy he was back to his searches in no time. 

Scrappy will be hugely missed by all of the staff at County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service and by the public who have been leaving condolence messages on the fire and rescue service Facebook page.