Winston-Salem arson dog nominated for national honor

Posted on: 5:34 pm, May 2, 2012, by Deven Swartz, updated on: 06:56pm, May 2, 2012

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The arson dog for the Winston-Salem Fire Department is in the running for a national honor.

Shazam, a black lab, has been nominated by the American Humane Association for a hero dog award. He is among 16 animals nominated for the category.

Voting takes place at herodogawards.org through June 30. You can vote once a day.

Shazam has helped work more than 200 fires since joining the department in 2008.

“He’s a loyal member of our department. Day or night he is willing to come out and assist in the department. There are a lot of things we wouldn’t get done without him,” said Norm Mitchell, Winston-Salem deputy fire marshal.

Fire officials said he spotted critical evidence at an arson last Thanksgiving weekend that led to three suspects being arrested on more than 40 charges.