Paying Tribute to our Four-Legged Heroes
Robin is joined by reality TV superstar Lisa Vanderpump who dishes about her world-famous pup, Giggy, and her love of Hero Dogs everywhere. Then, Robin features an in-depth discussion of the brave work arson dogs do to protect communities from this deadly, and extremely costly crime. Paul Gallagher, the owner/head trainer at Maine Specialty Dogs, and State Farm Public Affairs Specialist Heather Paul stop by to discuss why arson dogs are so vital in bringing arsonists to justice.
BIO:
Lisa Vanderpump
Lisa Vanderpump was born and raised in London but lived in Monte Carlo and the South of France before moving to California. Married to her husband Ken Todd, the couple recently celebrated their thirty-year anniversary and renewed their vows. Lisa and Ken have two children, Pandora and Max, plus their four dogs that they also consider their babies. While living in Europe, Lisa designed various homes, yachts and all 26 of their bars and restaurants. Lisa hasn't slowed down since moving to the states. She and her husband currently own two restaurants: Villa Blanca, a so-called celebrity hangout described as "the sexiest restaurant" in Beverly Hills; and SUR in West Hollywood, which is featured on the Bravo docu-series Vanderpump Rules. Additionally, she and Ken are in the process of opening a new lounge, PUMP, in West Hollywood. Lisa is candid about the fact that she spends every night in bed with a gigolo, also known as her pint-sized pup, Giggy.
Heather Paul joined State Farm® in 2001 where she is a Public Affairs Specialist on the Digital/Social Media team. She previously worked as a Community Development Specialist for State Farm and then joined the media team as a Corporate Media Spokesperson. In addition to coming up with creative ways to share safety messages, Heather also manages the State Farm Arson Dog Program, a program that trains accelerant detection dogs and handlers throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Outside of her corporate life, Heather works closely with many local non-profit organizations and boards. She currently serves on the West Bloomington Revitalization Project (WBRP) and has served on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of McLean County Board of Directors and on the Miller Park Zoological Society. She has also been an animal handler for Miller Park Zoo.
Heather is a graduate from the University of Iowa where she earned a bachelor degree in Socio-Cultural Anthropology. In her spare time, Heather has obtained the rank of third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, first degree black belt in Hapkido, and first degree black belt in Jujitsu. She is also the proud parent of 13 year old son, Hunter Orion. They share their home with many animal companions including a German Shepherd mix name MacKenna, a black pug named Yoshi, 3 cats, a rabbit, and a chinchilla.
Paul W. Gallagher is owner/head trainer of Maine Specialty Dogs. He trains and maintains training for law enforcement agencies in the use of detector canines. He is a certified canine trainer under the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.
Trooper Specialist Paul W. Gallagher retired as the supervisor/trainer of the Maine State Police Canine Unit in 1996. While in that capacity he served as a canine trainer under the Maine Criminal Justice Academy for state/local/county departments throughout Maine and the Department of Corrections.
While attending college Gallagher worked as a patrolman with Yarmouth Maine Police Department. At the time becoming Maine’s youngest cop at the age of 19. He continued in that role upon graduating with a degree in Law Enforcement Technology. In 1975, Gallagher became a patrol deputy for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department.
Gallagher joined the Maine State Police in 1976. During his tenure with the Maine State Police, Gallagher was assigned to rural patrol duties as a Trooper prior to being assigned to the Canine Unit in 1982. In 1986 he became trainer/supervisor of the Canine Unit. His experience included handling patrol, narcotic, and bomb dogs as well as being the secondary handler for the State Fire Marshal’s accelerant detector canine in Maine. Gallagher was responsible for the initial training and maintenance training of 28 State Police canines and over 60 local department’s police canines plus specialized law enforcement work.
During February of 1996 Gallagher was nominated for Maine State Trooper of the Year and also nominated for the “Top Cops” Award of the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO). Also in 1996 Gallagher received the Special Award of Commendation from the Maine State Police for his canine work.
In 1988, Gallagher developed the accelerant detection canine training program for the State of Maine. To date, he has trained over 255 accelerant canine teams in over 45 states, in addition to two in Costa Rica, and seven in Canada.