When a prank caller phoned a 911 dispatcher on April 28 and threatened that a bomb might explode at the Hidalgo County Courthouse, hundreds of employees and citizens evacuated the building, but Shark and his handler Deputy Fire Marshal Wesley Bradley strode right in. Shark’s nose went straight to the ground; he searched all five floors of the 1950s building — with its numerous nooks and crannies — searching for a device armed with incendiary explosives. When they found nothing, security declared the site safe and employees were allowed to come back to work. Shark got a pat on the head and some time with a chew toy.

Shark and his buddy Outlaw, both Golden Labrador Retrievers, were rescued from a shelter in Central Texas only one short year earlier. Today, they are the newest employees of the Hidalgo County Fire Marshal’s Office. Searching for incendiary bombs and accelerants is all in a day’s work.