OBEDIENT, NIMBLE, AND ARMED WITH A SENSE OF SMELL THOUGHT TO BE up to 100,000 times stronger than our own, dogs aren’t just great companions—they’re the ultimate coworkers. They were the first animals humans domesticated, and in our thousands of years together we’ve realized they can handle an array of difficult tasks. Today dogs help with everything from rescuing people trapped in avalanches to sniffing out coronavirus cases.
Increasingly, they’re using their canine superpowers on behalf of wildlife conservation. With their turbo-charged scent receptors, dogs are uniquely qualified for green jobs we can’t do alone. They can turn up endangered species, track down poachers, root out invasive pests, and prevent the spread of wildlife diseases. “Their potential is honestly boundless,” says Jennifer Hartman, a handler and cofounder of conservation canine company Rogue Detection Teams. “There’s so much these dogs can do.”
Their assignments may come with high stakes and harsh conditions, but the dogs don’t know it’s work. “It’s just like going out and having fun,” says Marc Bekoff, a University of Colorado Boulder behavioral ecologist who has studied dogs for decades. “When dogs get to exercise their senses for conservation, everybody wins.”
A SEABIRD’S LAST LINE OF DEFENSE
he is a very good boy, and with good reason. This 5-year-old, 26-pound Shiba Inu never shies away from a hard day’s work and happily shares his bed with his feline sister, Melchy. And for nearly four years he has helped prevent ecological
