By Chaz Balogh, Our Rescue ESD K9 Program Relationship Manager
A highly trained, excitable and lovable detective named Spike saved my life. I don’t say that lightly. He brought me back to life, really, giving me a new purpose and rejuvenating my career in my lifelong mission to protect kids.
Before Spike, I spent 35 years in law enforcement as a Detective Sergeant with the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. For 16 years, I led our Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force investigating horrific cases involving the downloading, sharing, and production of child sexual abuse material, or CSAM.
When you see evil each day, no human should ever have to carry that. I won’t pretend I came out of it the same. Once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it. It wears on you until one day you realize your mental health isn’t what it used to be.
I knew something had to change. What I didn’t expect was that change would arrive with four paws, a keen nose, and a direct path to my heart.
You see, Spike is a black Lab with a golden gift. I was partnered with him more than six years ago through Our Rescue’s Electronic Storage Detection (ESD) K9 program. What that means is that he’s trained to locate electronic storage devices—USB drives, micro SD cards, external hard drives, hidden cameras, tablets, and tracking devices. His nose is sensitive enough to detect TPPO (triphenylphosphine oxide), a coating used on memory chips to keep them from overheating.
How does Spike do this? He loves food. Labs are highly food-motivated so Spike doesn’t eat from a bowl. He is hand fed as a reward as part of his training. We hide real devices, and he works for every bite.
The digital world is now the crime scene, and in many cases, the entire case hinges on finding the right device. Finding one of these hidden microSD cards or USB drives is the equivalent of finding a gun in a homicide. Over the years, we’ve executed hundreds of search warrants together. Most of them have led to arrests. Spike has uncovered devices inside hollowed-out coins, plant pots, inside walls, even devices disguised as power adapters, books, ceiling tiles, soda cans, and furniture.
One case stands out in demonstrating how Spike can find things we can’t. A woman suspected her ex was tracking her. He kept showing up wherever she went, but she couldn’t prove how. We brought Spike to search her car, and he found an Apple AirTag hidden under the car carpet through a small slit. It was undetectable to the eye, but not to Spike. His discovery may have saved her life.
Today, I lead Our Rescue’s ESD K9 program as the Relationship Manager and Program Director. Overseeing the very program that changed my life for the better. My job is twofold: I work to grow the program, identifying and connecting with law enforcement agencies that could benefit from having a dog like Spike. I also ensure those dogs are going into the right hands.
We partner with Todd Jordan of Jordan Detection K9 in Indianapolis and every handler, whether from the U.S. or abroad, trains and certifies at our facility there. To dateOur Rescue has sponsored 118 ESD dogs across 36 states and eight countries. In 2025 alone, we want to place 36 more! 13 states still do not have an ESD K9. Our goal is to place one in each of the 61 ICAC Task Forces nationwide.
We fully fund the placement of each dog, but with that comes responsibility. I personally vet every department, making sure they understand the commitment and meet our standards and even travel to other countries to recertify our ESD dogs. I look for both need and fit. The handler must be dedicated to protecting and rescuing children—and they absolutely have to be a dog lover. Because this isn’t just a job, it’s a 24-7 duty, it’s their partner, and when the dog retires, it’s still going to be their best friend.
I want to be able to look any one of our donors in the eye and say: “I placed that dog with the right person, in the right department.” Accountability matters. We hold ourselves and our dogs to a high standard because everything starts with our donors. They make this work possible, and we owe it to them to get it right. When I give demos to donors with Spike, I bring real items he’s found—coins, chargers, planters, fake cans. People ask, “Why do you need a dog when you’ve got trained investigators?” My answer is simple. Without Spike, we’d never find it.
Here’s the best part. Spike has much more capability than his great sniffer. Spend a day with him and see his immense and intuitive compassion. He is also a therapy dog for survivors. After a search warrant, we let him spend time with children at the scene. Later, when they see him at the Child Advocacy Center, their faces light up. “I know Spike!” they say. I’ve seen children pet him, hug him, and find the courage to tell their story.
In another case, I executed a search warrant at a home with Spike on suspicion of a parent trafficking her young daughter for money and drugs. Spike helped the child feel enough comfort to disclose to our team that she had been victimized. We see kids walk in as victims, but leave as survivors.
A few months ago, I released a children’s book called “Detective Spike”, beautifully illustrated and based on real experiences. One page shows Spike lying next to a child during a forensic interview. That image always gets me.
All proceeds go to Our Rescue, and through that book, plush toys, and appearances, Spike and I have raised nearly $20,000. I didn’t have funding when I started. I just knew it needed to be done. It’s his legacy, and I want every school to have it.
Spike is more than a K9, he is truly my best friend. I have two other Labs at home, but Spike is the one who never leaves my side. We go to conferences, school assemblies, parades and go everywhere together. We’re the oldest and longest-serving ESD team in the program. I say it all the time, and I’ll never stop saying it: Spike saved my life. But the truth is, he’s saved a lot of others too. And he’s not done yet. Neither am I.