Most elementary schools have programs to teach kids about fire prevention and safety.  But the kids in Indiana get to learn about these things in a much more fun way, thanks to retired firefighter Jeff Owens and his black Labs.

Owens began The Kasey Program in 1995, and has been training and teaching for the last 20 years.  It started with the original Kasey, who has since died.  There are currently three black Labs in the program – senior KD, 4-year-old Kohl, and 14-week-old Kali.  KD will soon be retiring, and Kohl will be taking over.

The dogs show kids how to check a door to see if it’s hot, how to crawl below smoke, and how to stop, drop and roll.  They are shown by Owens what to do if they find lighters and matches, and told to make sure they have two exits from every room and a place to meet up once everyone gets out.

The firefighter uses songs to help the kids remember what they learn.  So far The Kasey Program has saved at least 15 lives.  The program has been mostly limited to schools in the Indianapolis area, but Owens and the dogs will soon be on the road to visit schools nationwide.

“I can prevent a firefighter from having to pull a child out,” Owens says.  “And I know how traumatizing it is to the firefighters, let alone the trauma sustained by the families.  So that’s what drives me to go out and teach as much as I do.”

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Usually, the latter group people are all talk. Yet sometimes, these hang-ups can have violent, often tragic results. Just ask Fifty.

Due to his massive wounds, Fifty’s owners could no longer afford to keep him, so Fifty landed in a high-kill shelter. Luckily, he was saved by Doberman Rescue Plus, and eventually found a permanent home with Kelly Michael, who loves pit bulls regardless of their bad publicity.

Kelly was smitten with Fifty as soon as they met. “As soon as I met him, it felt right and I knew he was my soulmate,” she says. Now, she and Fifty are working to educate the community in and around Chicago about pit bulls and the misconceptions about the breed. Kelly says that she’s going to keep working until pit bulls are as loved and accepted as any other breed.

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