O’Fallon’s Arson Dog Bo Retires After 8 Years of Service

O’Fallon bid farewell last week to a four-legged friend who served the community for nearly a decade.

Bo, the black lab that served as O'Fallon Police Department's arson-detection dog in the K-9 unit since 2004, is retiring.

For eight years Bo and his partner, O’Fallon Officer Andy Stowers worked side-by-side—responding to house fires and catching bad guys.

O’Fallon Capt. John Neske and Lt. Mike Growich recognized the pair at Thursday's City Council meeting.

“Officer Stowers and his partner Bo have responded during all hours of the night—not just in the city of O’Fallon, but in this entire region—house fires, car fires, fires in fields,” Growich said.“Officer Stowers worked diligently to find the root of the problem, find out what caused the fire and Bo was with him every step of the way.”

And now Bo will spend his retirement with Stowers as well. The O’Fallon City Council approved a resolution on Thursday, transferring Bo’s care and ownership to Stowers.

“Bo is now retiring, hopefully to spend his last years resting and having fun with his handler—catching the ball and doing all the things dogs do,” Growich said.

Stowers thanked the city for the opportunity to work alongside Bo.

“It’s amazing what dogs and animals can do,” he said. “We’ve shown a lot of juries what dogs can do.”