Hawaii's first-ever certified arson dog, Kaimi, died in mid-December at the home of acting Fire Chief Robert Perreira.
Kaimi retired from active duty on Dec. 31, 2019, the Hawaii Tribune reported in December.
Kaimi was a Labrador/Retriever mix rescued from Southern California and placed in the arson K9 training program, where he received certification on May 8, 2008, just one week after his birthday. Perreira worked side-by-side with Kaimi as a fire inspector and then as acting fire chief.
"It's a hard pill to swallow, losing my buddy, my partner," Perreira said, the Hawaii Tribune reported. "He stayed home the last year because he was retired, and when I leave home, he's making noise, because he knows I'm leaving."
For a long period, Kaimi was the lone arson dog in Hawaii and worked on numerous cases. One of the most significant cases Kaimi was assigned to was the Marco Polo condominium fire in Honolulu, which occurred July 14, 2017, and resulted in four deaths.
"We had a great career; we traveled all around," Perreira said, the publication reported. "We worked on almost every island — Maui, Kauai, Honolulu. We didn't go to Molokai or Lanai, but we helped around the state, and with hundreds of fires around our island."
State Farm funds the program under which Kaimi trained at Maine Specialty Dogs. The program certifies 10 dogs annually where canines undergo three and five months of intensive training before being assigned to a handler.
Although Kaimi was trained as an arson dog, he became an integral part of the Perreira family and even was a goodwill ambassador for the Hawaii Fire Department. The department hopes to have another arson dog in the near future.
"The first night, he slept in my bed. We were bonded. He was that kind of dog," Perreira said, the publication reported.