Despite pressure from police investigators and non-profit animal advocacy organizations, the barbaric practice of raising pit bulls for dog fighting is still widespread across North America. But the tragedy of dog fighting has turned into a triumph for Hansel, the first pitbull arson-detection K-9 in the United States.
Rescued from a Canadian dog-fighting ring by Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) in 2015 and put through a rehabilitation and training program by the Philadelphia non-profit Throw Away Dogs, Hansel has become an integral part of the team at the Millville Fire Department in New Jersey.
