Dogs are amazing. They are lovable, loyal, and protective. And, it turns out, heroes of conservation. Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C) loves bad dogs – the obsessive, high-energy kind. Of the approximately one million dogs euthanized in shelters across the country each year, Megan Parker and her partners at WD4C rescue handfuls of those dogs that few others want, and turns them into dog heroes.
Dog Heroes Work in an Array of Activities
These dogs don’t just get rescued; they get to work, putting their special high-energy skills to use in an array of conservation-related activities. From sniffing out arms and ammunition used by poachers in Zambia to detecting invasive weeds before they break the surface in Montana, these dogs become heroes that would otherwise have been killed, but for Parker’s efforts.
Parker and her colleagues select dogs with an over-the-top desire to play with a toy. “The ones we choose are high speed, hell to live with, high energy, and obsessive-compulsive. They will do anything to fetch or tug.”
Dogs get placed in countries as far away as Zambia where they can detect pangolin scales, leopard skins, lion, gunpowder, elephant ivory, rhino horn, illegal ammunition, and illegal bush meat.
To train the dogs, Parker links the scent of whatever target she’s training the dog on, be it ivory, ammunition, or invasive weeds, with a reward, usually a ball or a tug toy. “All of our training is positive. We link what they love with what we want them to find.”
When they find and train the right dog, Parker says, “The dog loves it. When it loves what it’s doing and has focus and drive, we keep it busy.” A win-win for these canine heroes and conservation.
Excerpts for this post were taken from my book, Wild Lives, Leading Conservationists on the Animals and Planet They Love. Megan Parker is one of the twenty conservationists featured in the book who are saving species across the globe.