Geof Petch, president and chief executive officer, Protect Security Systems of America, Malibu, Calif., watched Discovery Channel’s It Takes a Thief episode on Nov. 21, 2005, with his family. The episode, titled “Car Repair..Or Robbery,” featured Protect’s Smoke Cannon as a part of the show, which features real households and businesses, and shows viewers the importance of securing their property and possessions.

“We were surprised and honored when they approached us. It was a fascinating experience to work with [the show] in both the installation side and the entertainment and filming side,” Petch said, who attended the filming. The day was long and exciting, according to Petch, who says the filming took about eight hours.

In this particular episode, reformed thief and co-host Jon Douglas Rainey breaks into a dealership, stealing a Mercedes as well as the owner’s guard dog. Matt Johnston, the other co-host, then coaches the dealership’s owner on suggestions for preventing burglary in real-life – one of those prevention methods happens to be the Smoke Cannon.

In addition to Protect Security Systems, It Takes a Thief has featured several other security product manufacturers including Aiphone and Dedicated Micros.