When they're hard at work at Working Dogs for Conservation, dogs aren't just man's best friend — they're a force for conservation, too.
The WD4C dogs, recognizable with their distinctive red vests, have been helping to fight against invasive species, poaching, and other conservation threats since the nonprofit was founded in the 1990s. Their first mission was to identify a species of bear in Canada, and now they work in the United States in Montana and Wyoming as well as internationally in Laos and Africa.
Wyoming's Cowboy State Daily recently reported on the canine work, speaking with Breanne Black, WD4C's outreach and development coordinator.
"Because of their noses, the dogs can smell things that we can't see," Black explained. "They're a lot more effective and accurate than humans."
For example, the canine force joined an ongoing, decades-long project to eradicate one invasive plant — Dyer's woad — and they've dramatically outperformed human efforts, eliminating 99.6% of the plant from a mountain.
"We can only see the plant once it starts to grow, but the dogs can detect the seed," Black said.
The dogs have been trained on over 100 scents in the past 25 years, which means they can contribute to a wide variety of conservation projects. Other initiatives have included tracking down non-native plants and invasive species of mussels as well as monitoring endangered animal populations in the mountains of Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota.
In Africa, WD4C dogs work to detect any indication of poaching, from finding snares to picking up the scent of a poaching team. Once they've found their trail, they bring in law enforcement. The program has met with tremendous success: A single working dog, Ruger, was estimated to have put over 150 poachers out of business, per Cowboy State Daily.
And lest anyone worry that the dogs are working too hard, Black assured the Cowboy State Daily that they are given excellent care and that their workdays are kept short — no more than three hours.
"When the dogs see the vest come out, they are so excited," Black said. "They really enjoy the work."
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Absolutely 💯 And when a dog retires, they remain in the loving care of WD4C throughout the rest of their lives. One particularly legendary dog, Wicket, spent 14 years working on 32 scents across eight countries and 20 states before retiring to live out the remainder of her years in utter relaxation.
Some federal agencies, like the National Park Service, have had to put their contracts with WD4C on hold because of funding freezes and cuts made by the new administration. Nevertheless, Black remains optimistic that the organization can lean on private donors, foundations, and grants to keep their working dogs happily employed in the years to come.
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