COLUMBUS, Ohio -  Members of the Ohio Fire Marshal’s office have said farewell to a rescue animal that became what’s described as a “backbone” of the department’s canine program.

Dodger, an explosive detection canine for the State Fire Marshal Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau, passed away on Thursday.

"Dodger had been the backbone of our canine program for years," said Kevin S. Reardon, State Fire Marshal. “This is a tremendous loss and we will certainly miss Dodger but he will live forever in our hearts.”

Born in Ohio, Dodger was rescued from the greater Cincinnati area before starting his career in November 2010 to become the first State Fire Marshal Explosive Detection Canine.

Dodger was trained to detect many different types of explosives, firearms, and post-blast debris and supported missions with Homeland Security and other law enforcement functions throughout Ohio.

During his career, Dodger assisted in several bomb threats, protection details, evidence searches and pre-event sweeps, completing a total of 1,438 missions.

Upon retirement, Dodger lived at his home in Blacklick, Ohio with his handler, Ron Stemen and his family.

Dodger was 13 years old.