Xanadu’s nose goes to work before anyone else can even tell where to start.
In a room that smells like nothing but smoke and burned debris, the yellow Labrador moves with purpose, her breathing changing as she sorts through layers of odor no human can separate. When she finds what she is looking for, she sits — calm, deliberate — and waits.
“She is about two and a half right now, and she's imprinted on six classifications of ignitable liquids,” said her handler, Josiah, a fire investigator with Gilbert Fire & Rescue Department assigned to work with her. (Josiah's last name is being withheld because of his former police work.)