SNICKERS
a 13 year-old chocolate Labrador Retriever, is the recipient of the
2011 Clancy "Service" Award.
Snickers was a loyal and hard working partner of Mark Nowlan.
A rambunctious Labrador puppy is not always welcomed in one’s home, as one elderly couple in New York found out. So to the pound the pup went. Day after day went by not being adopted because the lovable dog was too energetic. A dog trainer discovered her when he thought her zealous for life could well be channeled as an arson dog.
Snickers was about a year old when her training was completed and she was partnered in 1999 with Mark Nowlan, one of the youngest handlers in the Maine State Police Accelerant Detection Canine School. Originally from Fredericton Junction, Mark, a passionate dog lover, worked for the Fredericton Fire Department.
Snickers had a long and very rewarding career here with Mark and broke ground in the fire investigation community by helping to prove and disprove many theories over the years. Snickers helped put many people behind bars including some for murder and attempted murder.
Just before she retired in January 2009, Snickers most celebrated case occurred after a search of 22 minutes. A new born baby was killed, hid in the woods where the murderer tried to burn it. The RCMP had searched tirelessly to no avail, before calling upon Snickers.
Although Snicker’s job was primarily that of a fire investigator, she did excel at showing off her skills to the hundreds of class visits throughout the city. Snickers, a social butterfly, was amazing with the children. She would first have to smile at the children then let them all rub her belly and pat her before going to work to find the things that were hidden in the class rooms. Mark wrote on Snicker’s nomination form, “ I pray that I can be half as good a human as you were a dog, then someday the powers that be may allow me to be with you again.”
Snickers was 13 years old when she died last year.
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