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.