Distinctly Montana Magazine

"A DOG BELONGS TO THE WORLD OF WOLVES SHE COMES FROM AND TO THE CIRCLE OF PEOPLE SHE HAS JOINED." ADAM GOPNIK, Bill, a service dog, walks his blind and deaf brother, Rocket. WICKET centrations nearly 100 million times lower than humans. This powerful nose has been a boon to saving human lives, but is also being used to help researchers locate and protect endangered wildlife and the landscapes on which species depend as well. A (SMALL) SAMPLE OF THE NEVER-ENDING WORK OF DOGS: Working Dogs for Conservation: http://www.workingdogsforconservation.org/ Guide Dogs for the blind: http://www.seeingeye.org/ Hearing ear dogs: http://www.dogsforthedeaf.org/ Assistance dogs for the disabled: http://www.dogsforthedisabled.org/ Hope, Animal-assisted Crisis Response: http://www.hopeaacr.org/ Cancer detection dogs: http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/LungCancer/2442 War Dogs: http://www.war-dogs.com/ Hunting dogs: http://www.the-hunting-dog.com/ Narcotics, explosives and cadaver detection dogs: http://www.nndda.org/ One summer day in Missoula, Montana, I hiked up a steep hillside on Mount Sentinel with Dalit Guscio, a dog handler for Working Dogs for Conservation, a Montana- based nonprofit, with her canine partner Seamus, a rescued Border collie cross. We're here to locate the last remnants of Dyer's Woad, an invasive weed that has taken over native prairies throughout Montana, eliminating for- age for a number of wild and domestic species. Highly trained and wildly enthusiastic Seamus moves quickly, methodically, sniffing close to the ground. As his head flies up, nose in the air, he circles back toward us a few times and then he sits. "Good boy!" calls Dalit, looking to see what he's parked himself next to. True to his calling, he's correctly pointed out a young Dyer's Woad plant. She tosses him a favorite toy, his reward for a suc- cessful find, and then she records data. DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL Fetch more dog pics Go to www.distinctlymontana.com/dogs114 Thanks to a joint effort between Montana State Univer- sity led by Kim Goodwin and the University of Montana led by Marilyn Marler, dogs are the most recent addition to on- going eradication efforts of Dyer's Woad on Mount Sentinel. Despite pulling, spraying, and eliminating hundreds of plants over 15 years, the final vestiges are holding on. These last bits are nearly impossible for humans to find. Given that each plant produces 400 seeds, locating and eradicating every single plant is crucial. With Seamus on the job, there is an increased assurance that this invasive species will be eliminated from this ecosystem completely. Meanwhile over in Montana's "Great Burn," a 250,000- acre roadless area straddling the border between Montana and Idaho, Orbee, a two-year-old Border collie dressed in an orange vest is sent to work in search of scat. Orbee sweeps through dense brush, running in wide arcs, jump- ing downed trees, traveling with his nose high, mouth wide open. Orbee crashes up the hill, comes to a screech- ing halt, backs up, sits down and stares at his handler. Aimee Hurt walks over to investigate his find, yelling, 16 DISTINCTLY MONTANA • AUTUMN 2011 CAROL POLICH THE N E W Y ORKER

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