Today was going to be a long day because of all the driving we would be doing. The stretch from Columbus, OH to Harrisburg, PA was at least a 7 hour drive once you factor in gas stops, road construction, tollways, and everything in between. By the time we arrived into Harrisburg we were road weary but still excited to meet the fine folks of Pennsylvania. We weren’t disappointed either.

Our stop was at the Pennsylvania National Fire Museum and it was an absolutely gorgeous museum. Everything inside was clean, the layout of the museum was spectacular, and the number of historical fire department pieces was stunning. Don Deitz is on the Executive Board with the PA National Fire Museum and they opened up their museum for us to walk through (THANKS DON!). WOW is all I can say because it truly is a gem in Harrisburg and if you haven’t stopped by, you are missing out on one of the greatest fire museums in this country.

 We had several government officials on hand to greet us in Harrisburg including Mayor Linda Thompson and Fire Chief Robert Talloni. We also had a special guest from Allentown, PA; Assistant Fire Chief Lee Laubach and K-9 Judge. After several prepared speeches and the unveiling we had a second surprise in store for us. Pennsylvania State Senator Tim Solobay arrived to welcome us to Pennsylvania and the see the monument. Senator Solobay even presented us with a state proclamation! Senator Solobay is himself a volunteer firefighter, having served with the Canonsburg Volunteer Fire Department since 1978, served as chief for four years, and is currently assistant chief. 

Our second stop of the day was in Allentown/Bethlehem. We followed Lee to the Allentown Fire Academy and even met firefighters who were in training. It was a nice, low-key way to end the long day. We all knew the next day was going to be stressful because we were heading into New York City.

Austin, Jerry, and Sadie started the morning off with a live interview on Fox 59 Indianapolis. Austin talked about his sculpting and Jerry & Sadie did a quick demonstration. Next stop for us was the Indianapolis State Capitol Building and we had great attendance from current and retired arson dog handlers. Richard Howard and K-9 Shadow came from the Evansville (Indiana) Fire Department, Todd Jordan and K-9 Ninja came from the Anderson (Indiana) Fire Department, and we even had two retired arson dog handlers who attended; Jesse Storey and Roger Griffin. We also had several news stations in attendance.

We then headed out for our next stop in Columbus, OH. When we arrived the first thing that we saw was an old fire truck sitting in the training lot at the Ohio Fire Academy. Austin was giddy when he saw that. It was actually owned and driven by local State Farm Agent. Just as amazing were the number of current and retired arson dog handler in attendance. We had Steve Claytor and K-9 Rudy from Green Township (Ohio) Fire Department, Kevin Bakley and K-9 Murphy from the Strongsville (Ohio) Fire Department, and several arson/bomb detection dogs from the State of Ohio and the City of Columbus (Dodger and Paz). We also had retired arson dog handler Steven Gallagher attend. Steve worked his K-9 Winchester for the Chillicothe Fire Department for a decade until Winchester passed away last year. State Farm VPA Susan Krieger spoke on behalf of State Farm and then Ohio Representative Michael Stinziano presented us with a state proclamation for bringing the NFDM through Ohio. Epic!

 Check out this picture – you know the monument is realistic when an arson dog butt sniffs the dog statue to see if it is real!

I went to bed early after we got to the hotel. Everyone else went to find a place to do laundry. It was refreshing to actually get more than 5 hours of sleep for a change because we had all been getting to bed late and waking up early. Half way through this trip but we all still love each other.

It was nice to have an evening to sleep in my own bed and I was very excited to bring the monument to State Farm Corporate Headquarters. We had a tremendous showing of suppoort even though it rained. Shane Arndt and K-9 Rusty, an arson canine team with the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s office were the first to arrive. He was followed by his boss, Illinois Fire Marshal Larry Makaitis. The crowd started rolling in despite the fact that it looked like it would dump rain any second. State Farm Public Affairs Vice President David Beigie welcomed everyone and then we all sang “Happy Birthday” to Rose’s arson dog Tana who celebrated her third birthday today.

We had quite a few kids at the stop as well and Jerry did a demonstration of what Sadie could do. He put a small drop of gasoline on a group of kids that were standing in a line-up. Sadie walked past the kids and immediately sat at the foot of one little boy who had the drop on his shoe. The kids and their parents got the biggest kick out of it.

After three hours at State Farm Corporate, it was time to drive to our next stop in Chicago. Austin has been giddy about the Chicago stop because he was born there (actually in Hinsdale, IL). He has idolized the Chicago Fire Department since he was a kid and became a firefighter because of his pride in the CFD. We had three more arson dog handlers show up at the Chicago stop: Officer Jack Barba and K-9 Zoe with the Bensenville Police Department; Arson Investigator Mitch Kushner and K-9 Raider with the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office; and Arson Investigator Kenny Arnold and K-9 Ellie with the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office (Ellie wasn’t in attendance because she was at the vet). We also had Illinois Fire Marshal Larry Makaitis again. Talk about dedication – he came to all 3 Illinois stops for the NFDM Road Show!

The emotional moment of the day was when Mitch Kushner brought the ashes and collar of his first K-9 partner, Nikki, and placed them at the base of the fire dog monument. It was a perfect moment. Fire Marshal Makaitis also had arranged a special trip for Austin to Chicago Fire Department Station 18. Austin was beside himself! After the visitors had left, our Chicago Public Affairs Specialist Lisa Ladonna Cooper ran out and got us our last memory of the day – Chicago-style hotdogs.

Today was a long and exhausting day with three stops for the road show. We started off in Jefferson City, MO at the capitol building. What a gorgeous building it is! The crowd was small and we had to cut our stop short because a Ren Faire (medieval fair) was taking place at the Capitol early in the afternoon and they needed to set-up. We did have a nice showing by the Jefferson City Fire Department who showed up with two trucks, including a ladder truck.

Our next stop was O’Fallon, MO and while it wasn’t an official stop on the road show tour schedule, we were very excited because of who we were visiting. Officer Andy Stowers with the O’Fallon Police Department has been working with his K-9 partner Bo for many years. Bo will be retiring later this year but he has also been nominated for the American Humane Association Hero Dog Awards. Andy had arranged everything for our one hour stop and he didn’t disappoint us. We had an official escort to the T.R. Hughes Ballpark and when we arrived, we were greeted by police and firefighters from O’Fallon and the surrounding area. Andy had hosted a fundraiser for the NFDM and presented Jerry with a check from the proceeds. While the visit was short at only an hour, it made our day.

The final stop for the day was in Springfield, IL. When we arrived, we were placed next to the Fallen Firefighters Memorial at the Illinois State Capitol Building. Illinois State Fire Marshal Larry Matkeitis was present and so was arson investigator Jay Crippen with the Carbondale Fire Department and his K-9 partner Pal. I did a quick interview with WAND 17 NBC and just as the reporter left, it started to sprinkle. We decided to wrap up early and everyone headed to the hotel for a nice rest. Everyone except for me because I was so close to my home in Normal, IL that I got a chance to sleep in my own bed  – the first time in almost a week. My pets were happy to see me, my son was happy to see me, and I was happy to have a hot shower in my own home.

After we got into Hays, KS late the night before, we didn’t have much time for sleep because we had to leave at 6:30 a.m. to drive to Topeka, Kansas. You could tell that we were all exhausted from the first day in Denver because we barely said a word to each other in the RV. When we reached the State Capitol Building, we were greeted by the smiling face of Rose Rozmiarek, Chief of Investigations for the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office. Rose was trained through the State Farm Arson Dog Program and now works with her canine partner, Tana. Soon enough, Rose and Jerry were joined by four other arson dog handlers and their canine partners: Special Agent Kris Smyth and K-9 Scout with the Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office; Fire Investigator Jason Ziph and K-9 Phoenix with the St. Joseph (Missouri) Fire Department; Investigator Brad Sloup and K-9 Ashley with the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office; and Division Chief Brad Henson and K-9 Lou with the Olathe (Kansas) Fire Department. Our visit to the Capitol Building was led by Kansas State Fire Marshal Terry Maple. Fire Marshal Maple and Rose did the monument unveiling and the instant that Tana saw the monument dog, she started barking at it. She thought it was a real dog!

Besides seeing a great turnout from handlers and their dogs coming from four states (Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri), the best part of the day was provided by a group of daycare kids. The group had about 10 – 15 kids that looked like they were at least in 2nd or 3rd grade. When Jerry saw them crossing the street with a daycare employee, he started telling them about arson dogs and the monument. The kids of course wanted to see the monument and they were so impressed by it, they walked over to Austin LITERALLY with their mouths open. One kid even said to Austin “dude, you are amazing”. That definately made his day! It was a truly spontaneous moment.

Rose and her husband Gary joined our caravan across the country and now we had a second RV to travel in. Along with her canine partner Tana, Rose also traveled with her other dog Onyx and a bird named Quincy. We arrived in Jefferson City, MO early enough in the evening to actually have a meal so we went to Arris’ Pizza across from the Capitol Building. FANTASTIC GREEK PIZZA HOUSE! It is nice to go to bed with a full belly.

Our first stop of the day is done! Our morning started off at Jeffco Stadium where we were scheduled to celebrate first with all of Jerry’s co-workers and supporters at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. We felt pretty good that we had an hour to get everything set-up for the first time.

The first rule of road shows and big events like this is that something will go wrong. It did. Scott Sowers from the American Humane Association (AHA), Austin, and I were in charge of setting up the AV equipment. The company that we rented our AV equipment from, Advanced Audio & Lighting Systems out of Peoria, IL, did an outstanding job of laminating step by step instructions for each piece of equipment. We felt pretty confident that we would be able to get the video screen, microphones, and sounds system set up in an hour and we did. We had everything quickly set-up using their very detailed instructions. They even labeled every single cable for us.

So imagine our surprise (actually my total freak out) when nothing worked! We checked and re-checked every connection but the video screen didn’t turn on and there was no sound coming from the speakers. 

 I made a frantic call to Ryan at Advanced Audio and he tried to troubleshoot but with minutes to go before we were supposed to start the program, we went ahead without sound or video. Thankfully Law Enforcement officials have loud voices. The monument received an amazing reception and despite our AV problems, it was so fantastic to see Jerry & Sadie along with CBI Agent Brett & and his K-9 partner Spencer get recognized by leadership and their peers.

After the presentation was over, Scott and I worked to figure out why the AV wasn’t working. The video monitor started working after we tried a different outlet on the generator. Apparently it was plugged into the one bad outlet. That left the sounds system.

Now I consider myself a pretty techie person and I was truly perplexed as to why we weren’t getting sound when the sound board was showing that the mics were working. It was as we started tearing down the equipment that I realized the fatal error…we didn’t plug in the power to the speakers. You know when you have trouble with electrical equipment and the first thing the technician asks is “did you plug in the {enter equipment}” and you feel like slapping them for asking such an obvious question? Well Ryan did ask me that and I was thinking “duh – that’s the first thing that we did”. Except that we didn’t. Our embarrassment was replaced with relief because at least we had figured out the problem before the next big stop at the Colorado State Capitol Building.

I have to give a massive shout out here to my Wonder Twin, Susan Medina from CBI. She is stellar peeps and did an amazing job getting the CBI stop and the Denver Capitol stop arranged. The State of Colorado and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is lucky to have her and I am blessed to have found a new sister.