Distinctly Montana Magazine

Fourteen-year-old Ariyana Fevero has a huge desire to enter the Iditarod. She was chosen as an "Exceptional Youth" and will benefit from the $100-a-plate dinner and auction of dog sled rides at The Wild Mare, Montana's newest steakhouse, on Oct. 2nd in Corvallis. WICKET THESE FOUR-LEGGED CREATURES ARE MORE THAN A BEST FRIEND AND DEFINITELY A NOMINEE IN THE BEST EMPLOYEE CATEGORY—EVER. that have entirely too much energy and drive for the aver- age family. The persistence of these traits should come as no surprise, since the success of many Montana ranches has been, at least in part, attributable to the dogs working alongside ranchers. Herding dogs, however, aren't selected for their sense of smell as much as for another unique canine instinct: predatory behavior. Every dog has a natural tendency toward some aspect of predatory behavior, where the dog's highly attuned visual sensory system detects movement, triggering the instinct to give chase. The goal of breeding a good herding dog is to mini- mize the dog's natural inclination to treat livestock as prey while simultaneously maintaining the dog's hunting skills. Herding in a variety of ways, some dogs nip at the heels of animals ("heelers"), while others give an animal a strong eye ("headers"), staring down the animal and keeping livestock in the group. Heelers drive the animals forward, typically from behind the herd, while the headers go to the front of the herd where they can stop and turn animal movement. With a sharp nose and a well-honed predatory instinct, this combination of traits have helped sniff out more than lost hikers and track down more than the rogue cow. York, a Dutch shepherd and recent retiree from the Great Falls, Montana police K-9 unit, spent five and one-half years helping solve crimes. York used his nose successfully in 213 misdemeanor cases, 84 felonies, and his tracking abilities to capture 47 criminals, personally taking down seven sus- pects. With a 40 percent success rate in tracking criminals, York's abilities far exceeded that of the national police dog average of a six to nine percent success rate. York demon- strates how a mix of dog traits can come together to fill a much-needed role extremely well. 18 While York worked fighting crime and rounding up crimi- nals, some dogs work to rehabili- tate them as well. Founded in 2004 by Warden Jo Acton with Debbie Bouwcamp of Service Canines of Montana, Prison Paws for Humanity brings rescue dogs and inmates at the women's prison together to help rehab and prepare one another for a better, more posi- tive existence. Moreover, prison inmates serve as evaluators of Delta Society Pet Partner teams, training and screening volunteers with their pets so they can visit patients/clients in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice, and many other facilities. It's been demonstrated that when animals are around, people's blood pressure goes down, stress and anxiety levels are reduced, people feel less lonely and less depressed, and they tend to be more social and community oriented. "For inmates, this is a cross between a skill-building vocational program and therapeutic program. We see good teamwork effort as the women help each other. There is a difference in their self-esteem when they work with the dogs. Most of these women will be leaving here and they have learned to be responsible," said Jo Acton in a Billings Outpost article. From entirely new vocations to the more traditional jobs, dogs are tremendous helpmates whose work knows no bounds; new uses for dogs continue to be discovered and tested daily. Whether its help finding a lost hiker, an endangered species, keeping a herd of cattle in-line, retrieving a bird for a hunter, sniffing out a criminal, or rehabbing a lost soul, these four-legged creatures are more than a best friend and definitely a nominee in the best employee category—ever. Kathryn Socie lives in Bozeman, MT, and is owned by two cattle dogs. Happily dogged, she hikes daily and doesn't get into the backcountry nearly enough. DISTINCTLY MONTANA • AUTUMN 2011

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