You may have seen him trotting alongside his human partner on Liacouras Walk, panting and allowing passersby to give him a nice pet. But, don’t let the sweet face fool you, Jarvis the dog is an official canine officer trained to sniff out dangerous explosives.

“He’s really a nice dog,” said Capt. Denise Wilhelm of Campus Safety. “This semester we’ve had him out on campus a lot, introducing him to the community. He likes people, but when it’s time for him to work, you should see him in action.”

Fortunately, Jarvis hasn’t had a situation to respond to, but when the time comes, he’s more than prepared, Wilhelm said. 

Jarvis is just one arm of the overall Campus Safety Services department at Temple, which handles day-to-day emergencies and crime prevention along with activities and events designed to increase safety awareness in the Temple community.

In addition to taking Jarvis out for a stroll, officials in Campus Safety Services offered a series of events this month designed to remind students to put their own well-being first.

On Thursday, Sept. 25, members of the Campus Safety Services team and Temple Student Government will hold a Safety Walk around campus. Expect to see members of the Temple community checking lighting and emergency phones and offering student information on best practices for safety both on and off-campus.

The department also extends its services off-campus to assist with neighborhood clean-ups and other programing. Saturday will kick off the fall season of Adopt-a-Block, in which student groups will be assigned a total of 10 blocks in the area surrounding Temple to offer weekend block clean-ups and other activities.

“Safety is the responsibility of the entire Temple community,” said Capt. Eileen Bradley. “We can all work together to insure that our campus is a safe and comfortable place.”

For more information on how to get involved visit the Office of Campus Safety.