A female arson investigator is being praised across the state for her ability to "sniff out" criminals, and all she asks is a pat on the head in return.  

Her name is Daisy, and she has a nose for fire investigation. The black lab, accompanied by her handler, Keith Reed, travels throughout the state, sniffing out clues to send arsonists to jail.

"The K9 program is the best tool for an arson investigation to properly work a fire scene, and determine what the cause of that fire is," Fire Marshal Butch Browning says.

Daisy's work is a cause close to the heart of Fire Marshal Browning, who trained the state's very first accelerant detection dog back in 1991.

"This animal can find the smallest trace of accelerants, of flammable liquids used to start a fire, this is very important to build a case and determine who's responsible for this fire."

To demonstrate Daisy's skills, Keith Reed places drops of an evaporated gasoline solution along the baseboard of a room. Then, daisy goes to work.

"I have a fanny pack that has her food in it, because she's a food reward dog, and when she sees that, I give her he command to go to work, and she puts her nose down, and gets to work," says Reed.

When Daisy detects a petroleum based substance, anything from gasoline to diesel to lighter fluid, she sits. To double check her alert, reed extends his hand and says show me, and daisy points her nose to the accelerant.

Daisy's addition to the team is the result of a partnership between the State Fire Marshal's office and State Farm insurance.

Brad Markerson with State Farm tells TV 10, "each year, we see hundreds of lives lost and billions of dollars in property, that were caused by arson.  It's very important for us to have a project like this in our community."

For Lafayette Fire Chief Robert Benoit, Daisy's timing is perfect. Benoit says a downturn in the economy usually means an upturn in deliberately set fires.

"A lot of times they may be using accelerants we can't detect looking at it from the human eye, so this dog will assist us in making those things happen."

Now don't worry, Daisy's life isn't all work and no play.

She lives with her handler, Keith Reed, and his family, but she's always ready at a moment's notice.