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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to More Outdoors on News Top five sixty klv I.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Chester Moore and I'm really excited about today's guest.

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<v Speaker 1>We've had him on before about a year ago. But

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<v Speaker 1>the work this man and the organization he represents does

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<v Speaker 1>is absolutely incredible. If you listen to this program, you

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<v Speaker 1>know I'm all about wildlife conservation and you know I

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<v Speaker 1>love dogs. I'm always talking about my bull master for

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<v Speaker 1>my Doberman. Love dogs and I love working dogs. So

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<v Speaker 1>on the light right now we have mister Pete Koppelilo.

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<v Speaker 1>He is the executive director for Working Dogs for Conservation.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the program.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks, thanks for having me.

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<v Speaker 1>Working Dogs for Conservation. Man, that's a mouthful. So explain

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<v Speaker 1>to us out there who are maybe not really familiar

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<v Speaker 1>with this, what Working Dogs for Conservation is all about.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Well, the short answer is that we train dogs

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<v Speaker 2>to do conservation work however and wherever we can, and

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<v Speaker 2>we take them all over the world to do it.

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<v Speaker 2>You know. The longer answer is that that in the

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<v Speaker 2>early days of our field and our organization, it was

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<v Speaker 2>primarily the detection work and primarily ecological work, finding scats.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, the big, the big development that really led

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<v Speaker 2>to this field was was when it became possible to

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<v Speaker 2>get DNA from fecal material and scats, and so at

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<v Speaker 2>that point, everybody, you know it, there was a good

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<v Speaker 2>reason to find all the scats that you could, whether

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<v Speaker 2>you were looking for grizzly bears or wolverines or wolves,

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<v Speaker 2>or African wild dogs or Siberian tigers and so so

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<v Speaker 2>we started using dogs to do that, and I say

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<v Speaker 2>we the broader collective conservation we I didn't join the

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<v Speaker 2>organization until twenty twelve, but it was founded by by

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<v Speaker 2>four women all from here in Montana, working working on

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<v Speaker 2>why life and figuring out, you know, better, less invasive,

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<v Speaker 2>less expensive, safer ways to find out about wildlife and

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<v Speaker 2>protect them.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and I think that's a really really important thing,

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<v Speaker 1>is about the way to find out about wildlife. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>these dogs are actually out there, maybe in the middle

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<v Speaker 1>of you know, Siberia somewhere. Because of the genetics, they

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<v Speaker 1>can get out a scat, for example, use their nose

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<v Speaker 1>to find and maybe find even subpopulations of endangered animals

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<v Speaker 1>like the Siberian or Amure tiger that people didn't know existed.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's exactly right, that's exactly right. And you know,

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<v Speaker 2>back in the day, you know, we we were happy

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<v Speaker 2>and impressed when we could identify a scat to species.

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<v Speaker 2>And nowadays we can not only identify it to species,

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<v Speaker 2>but we can tell you if it's a male or female.

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<v Speaker 2>We can identify it as an individual, so we can

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<v Speaker 2>know how many different individuals the scats that we collect

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<v Speaker 2>came from. And we can even do things like pedigree

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<v Speaker 2>and know who that individual is related to. So you know,

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<v Speaker 2>for example, if you give us a bear scat, a

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<v Speaker 2>dog finds a bear scat in an unlikely location, we

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<v Speaker 2>can tell you whether that's a Northern Continental divide grizzly

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<v Speaker 2>bear or a Yellowstone grizzly bear for example.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow, that's pretty that's pretty impressive there.

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<v Speaker 2>It's great.

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<v Speaker 1>So but you pair that technology now with the old

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<v Speaker 1>school technology of a dog's nose, I mean kind of

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<v Speaker 1>almost going back to basics, but refining what that dog

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<v Speaker 1>is built for.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's amazing. It really is amazing. And you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's a it's a it's just a it's a cool combination.

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<v Speaker 2>You know that we've been living with these canids for

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<v Speaker 2>forty thousand years and and and co evolved with them.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, dogs morphology is different. They've got muscles that

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<v Speaker 2>wolves don't have in their eyes to communicate with us us.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, it's just it really is. It's very cool.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know, I say it all the time. People

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<v Speaker 2>people love to hear about how sensitive and amazing dogs

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<v Speaker 2>noses are, and they really are. But the truth is,

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<v Speaker 2>the really extraordinary thing about a dog, the thing that

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<v Speaker 2>enables us to do this work with them, is not

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<v Speaker 2>necessarily their nose. Lots of species have amazing noses. What's

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<v Speaker 2>amazing about a dog is the relationship to us and

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<v Speaker 2>the desire to be around us and to work with us,

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<v Speaker 2>and to communicate with us, and to you know, to

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<v Speaker 2>work through all those you know, we go through these

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<v Speaker 2>hand handed ways of asking them questions and they they

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<v Speaker 2>figure it out and they work with us on it

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<v Speaker 2>and get the job done in spite of how how

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<v Speaker 2>poorly we speak dog.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, exactly. It's like you guys are speaking a really

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<v Speaker 1>bad Doberman dialect here today. But one of the things

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<v Speaker 1>I found interesting when I first met with you guys

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<v Speaker 1>through our mutual friends at the Wild Cheap Foundation, was

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<v Speaker 1>it you're not necessary fairly using like a specialist breed.

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<v Speaker 1>You guys are using like rescue dogs.

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<v Speaker 2>Yep, yep, that's right. We actually select for their behavior

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<v Speaker 2>and behavioral characteristics. And really it's simple. It's over simplification

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<v Speaker 2>a little bit, but what we really look for is

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<v Speaker 2>crazy ball drive or toy drive, you know. And and

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<v Speaker 2>that's because this is this this job is really just

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<v Speaker 2>a game for them. Basically. The the crux of what

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<v Speaker 2>we do is is they figure out they're they're they're excited,

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<v Speaker 2>crazy excited to play their game, you know, whether it's

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<v Speaker 2>Patch or tug or whatever. And and and we create

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<v Speaker 2>a game where if you find the target odor, or

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<v Speaker 2>track the poacher, or or do discrimination we can talk.

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<v Speaker 2>We'll get into the discrimination stuff a little later, but

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<v Speaker 2>you know, you do the thing that I'm asking you for,

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<v Speaker 2>and we get to play the game. And and you know,

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<v Speaker 2>so that's that's not unique to any particular breed. And

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<v Speaker 2>you know, we're relatively small. I mean in the conservation world,

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<v Speaker 2>we're big for a conservation dog organization, but you know,

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<v Speaker 2>relative to other working dog organizations like the US military

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<v Speaker 2>or Customs and Border Protection, were tiny. And so even

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<v Speaker 2>we just can't we're not an important customer when it

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<v Speaker 2>comes to buying you know, these high end, fancy bread

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<v Speaker 2>dogs from Europe. So even if we wanted to, we

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<v Speaker 2>really you know, those those folks don't return my phone

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<v Speaker 2>calls no matter what. And so you know, around nine

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<v Speaker 2>to eleven, after nine eleven the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan,

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<v Speaker 2>there was a global shortage in detection dogs, specialty bread

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<v Speaker 2>detection dogs, and the price for them went up to

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<v Speaker 2>twenty five fifty thousand dollars. So we just didn't have

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<v Speaker 2>that kind of money back in the day. And those

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<v Speaker 2>huge prices also drove a lot of disreputable breeders into

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<v Speaker 2>the market.

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<v Speaker 3>So pretty much, you know.

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<v Speaker 2>Everybody in Eastern Europe who could get their hands on

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<v Speaker 2>shepherds or mouths were breeding them. And what we saw

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<v Speaker 2>is a resurgence of a lot of bad stuff like

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<v Speaker 2>hip dysplasia and elbow displaysia, you know, congenital genetic problems

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<v Speaker 2>and all that. And like I said, we don't have

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<v Speaker 2>access to the reputable, high end breeders, and we're not

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<v Speaker 2>going to do business with the disreputable ones. So it

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<v Speaker 2>just made perfect sense, and it fit philosophically with a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of the early dogs were rescued anyway, so it

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<v Speaker 2>all fit and it all came together and we've doubled down,

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<v Speaker 2>and I never say never. You know that there are

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<v Speaker 2>great dogs that are rescued, but you know, there are

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<v Speaker 2>also certain circumstances where it makes a lot more sense,

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<v Speaker 2>like for example, with a green handler, where you really

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<v Speaker 2>need to know a dog's early history and all that.

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<v Speaker 2>So I don't want to throw shade on the people

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<v Speaker 2>who who buy bread dogs. There are great bread dogs.

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<v Speaker 2>There are lots of good reasons to do it because

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<v Speaker 2>you know their history, you can them from the very beginning,

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<v Speaker 2>and that's really a powerful thing and people do amazing

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<v Speaker 2>things that way. But for us, you know, primarily our first,

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<v Speaker 2>our go to is to rescue them.

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<v Speaker 1>No, that makes I want to get that out because

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<v Speaker 1>I think that's a really cool part of what you do.

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<v Speaker 1>And also the fact that the ability to smell out

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<v Speaker 1>these things is it necessarily just a trait of like

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<v Speaker 1>a Belgian malanoy or a bloodhound or whatever it happens

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<v Speaker 1>to be. So just real quick, give me just an

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<v Speaker 1>overview of some of the breeds that are out there

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<v Speaker 1>working for you guys right now.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I'm proud to say that the most common breed

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<v Speaker 2>in our kennel.

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<v Speaker 1>Is a mutt muting out.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, we take mixed breeds, but we've got shepherds, we've

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<v Speaker 2>got mouths, we've got a lot of labs. We've got

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<v Speaker 2>at least one German short hair. You know, and people,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, dog people are all are all funny, and

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<v Speaker 2>I include myself in that. You know, the bloodhound people

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<v Speaker 2>will say bloodhounds noses are this much better than everybody else's.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know a lot of people, police and military

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<v Speaker 2>folks are are really believe in their mouths and shepherds

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<v Speaker 2>and they want to you know that they say, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>you know a bloodhound, this might be predisposed to groundcent

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<v Speaker 2>or you know a certain way of searching. I want

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<v Speaker 2>a dog that's going to use all the tools in

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<v Speaker 2>front of them. You know, the truth is every single

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<v Speaker 2>one of these dogs is incredibly talented, even your you know,

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<v Speaker 2>your little lap dogs and dogs that we don't think

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<v Speaker 2>of working dogs have this ability. What's really exceptional that

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<v Speaker 2>we look for that and is that drive, that drive

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<v Speaker 2>to work, the persistence you know, to not only just

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<v Speaker 2>want to play with the ball, but like to look

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<v Speaker 2>for it for five, ten, fifteen minutes, maybe all day long.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, it's it's it's those characteristics that really that

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<v Speaker 2>really drive them. The truth is, you know, I don't

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<v Speaker 2>think we go anywhere close to the lower end of

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<v Speaker 2>what dogs are capable of.

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<v Speaker 1>When we come back More Outdoors a News Top five six,

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<v Speaker 1>we talk more with Pete Coppolila with Working Dogs for Conservation.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome back to More Outdoors on News Talk five sixty

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<v Speaker 1>of Chester More. Follow me at the Chester More on Instagram.

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<v Speaker 1>Go to KLVI dot COMFLIC on the podcast link for

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<v Speaker 1>archives of this program at iHeartRadio. Follow me also higher

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<v Speaker 1>Calling Wildlife on Facebook and talking with Pete Copolilo from

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<v Speaker 1>Working Dogs for Conservation. So we've established you guys are

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<v Speaker 1>using rescue dogs and kind of the mission for what

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<v Speaker 1>you do and what are some of the specific missions.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, we mentioned finding scat and helping locate populations

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<v Speaker 1>of animals and obscure areas and things like that, but

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<v Speaker 1>I know that right now you guys actually have some

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<v Speaker 1>dog or a dog or two in Texas helping sniff

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<v Speaker 1>out zebra muscles.

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<v Speaker 2>Yep, that's correct. We work very closely with a partner

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<v Speaker 2>named Laura Spate, who's who's wonderful and has done a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of work. As as you know better than I do,

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<v Speaker 2>Texas is right at the edge of the distribution for

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<v Speaker 2>zebra and quaga muscles, and they are they're no fun.

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<v Speaker 2>They are you know, ecologically they're bad and they they

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<v Speaker 2>cause millions of dollars literally millions of dollars damage to

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<v Speaker 2>human infrastructure. And the interesting thing, you know, also scary

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<v Speaker 2>thing about zebra and quagga muscles is that we can

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<v Speaker 2>see them when they encrust. You know, most of us

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<v Speaker 2>have seen the picture.

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<v Speaker 4>Of the pipe that's almost completely plugged by them, So

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<v Speaker 4>that's the adult, the adult individual that they disperse themselves

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<v Speaker 4>through an invisible larval stage.

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<v Speaker 2>At least it's invisible to us, to humans called a villager.

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<v Speaker 2>We can't see it. We can't see it when it's

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<v Speaker 2>in water, we can't see it when it's settled on

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<v Speaker 2>a surface. But we demonstrated that a dog can smell it.

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<v Speaker 2>So so so a number of years ago, working here

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<v Speaker 2>in Montana and in Alberta, we demonstrated that the dogs

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<v Speaker 2>could do this. And what's really cool about it is

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<v Speaker 2>not only are they more sensitive than a human inspector,

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<v Speaker 2>but they're faster. They're much much faster, so a visual

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<v Speaker 2>search of a big say a you know, a catamaran

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<v Speaker 2>or a house boat or something like that. You know,

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<v Speaker 2>it might take an inspector an hour to really check

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<v Speaker 2>that thing thoroughly, and like I said, they would still

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<v Speaker 2>miss the invisible larvae. A dog can do a boat

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<v Speaker 2>like that in a handful of minutes. And so you know,

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<v Speaker 2>when the people are rolling up to the check station

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<v Speaker 2>and there's an inspector between them and their day on

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<v Speaker 2>the water, a lot of times people start to get

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<v Speaker 2>grumpy as there's a big line and you know, come on,

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<v Speaker 2>let's get moving. And the inspectors, you know, understandably so

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<v Speaker 2>they may not be able to inspect every boat, so

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<v Speaker 2>they just start waving them through. But when you've got

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<v Speaker 2>a dog there, number one, they don't pile up because

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<v Speaker 2>it's happening faster. But number two, if people do have

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<v Speaker 2>to wait, they're going to get out of the truck

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<v Speaker 2>and they go, hey, look there's a dog working over there.

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<v Speaker 2>And then you know they're watching. And the folks in

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<v Speaker 2>Alberta did a did a great thing by by creating

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<v Speaker 2>playing cards for them, and so we do that for

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<v Speaker 2>all the dogs now, and Laura's dogs too, and and

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<v Speaker 2>so everybody gets a little playing card you know that says, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>you've been sniffed by Darby or you know, or SEUs

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<v Speaker 2>or or Diesel. And so it's really cool because you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it takes something that would make people grumpy and makes

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<v Speaker 2>it a positive, fun experience for them.

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<v Speaker 1>So if they sniff out a larval zebra muscle, then

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<v Speaker 1>what will the next step be in terms of making

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<v Speaker 1>sure this isn't going to a lake?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, the inspector then says, you gotta you've got to

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<v Speaker 2>powerwash your boat before it can before it can go

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<v Speaker 2>in the water. And in different jurisdictions they have different

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<v Speaker 2>practices for it. Sometimes they get what looks like a

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<v Speaker 2>big old zip tie that goes on on the on

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<v Speaker 2>the outboard that says this boat's clean and has been inspected.

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<v Speaker 2>And other times it's just it's just uh, people operating

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<v Speaker 2>on the honor system because stay by state, the regulations

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<v Speaker 2>sort of vary. But the truth is, you know, boaters

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<v Speaker 2>and anglers, they want to do the right thing. Nobody

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<v Speaker 2>wants the zebra and quagga muscles encrusting everything. It's a mess,

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<v Speaker 2>it's terrible. They cut your feet. They cost everybody a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of money. It's we're all aligned on not wanting

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<v Speaker 2>them to invade.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, a lot of damage, and it changes the ecosystem

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<v Speaker 1>so much. I mean it clears the water up to

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<v Speaker 1>a level to where a lot more aquatic vegetation, including

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<v Speaker 1>non indigenous vegetation, grows. I've been on a lake in

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<v Speaker 1>New York that was basically had you know, I had

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<v Speaker 1>some vegetation, but it was so thick now that you

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<v Speaker 1>couldn't even fish the lake because of zebra muscle infestigations.

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<v Speaker 1>Just a lot of weird stuff. With these dogs helping

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<v Speaker 1>sniff this out. Now, you talk about it being on

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<v Speaker 1>a boat, being encrustling on a dock or something like that.

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<v Speaker 1>Is it possible to take them in a boat on

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<v Speaker 1>a lake where you think it might have got introduced

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<v Speaker 1>and actually smell them in the water.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we do do that on shoreline. We do shoreline searches.

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<v Speaker 2>So here in Montana, we had a couple of a

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<v Speaker 2>scare you probably know about environmental DNA. Folks will use

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<v Speaker 2>these what they call fat bags or or you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's it's like basically a sponge that'll that'll catch fragments

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<v Speaker 2>of DNA, And we had records of there was an

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<v Speaker 2>indication in Tiber Reservoir and Canyon Ferry two reservoirs here

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<v Speaker 2>in Montana that there was there had been muscles there so,

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<v Speaker 2>but nobody had seen muscles. It hadn't been seen on

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<v Speaker 2>a boat. They weren't on recorded on on you know, anywhere.

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<v Speaker 2>So so what we did was used our dogs to

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<v Speaker 2>do shoreline and infrastructure searches, which makes sense, right because

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<v Speaker 2>that's that's where a boat goes in. It's probably gonna

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<v Speaker 2>you know, dump its ballast tank or its bait tank,

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<v Speaker 2>or it's things like that near the shore and near

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<v Speaker 2>the the near the pier and stuff like that. So

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<v Speaker 2>we can use them in that way. People do use

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<v Speaker 2>dogs in boats. It's not our dogs, but it's been

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<v Speaker 2>done for orcas. Putting a boat. There was a rottweiler

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<v Speaker 2>named Tucker who lived in the front of a of

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<v Speaker 2>a of a boat and the and he would by

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<v Speaker 2>going back and forth, help direct that the boat captain

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<v Speaker 2>toward orca scats that would float. They float for a

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<v Speaker 2>time wow before they sink. So it's it's a it's

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<v Speaker 2>a that's a cool collaboration right there to have them

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<v Speaker 2>find that kind of stuff on the water. So, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>they do all sorts of stuff like that. And then

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<v Speaker 2>you know, if you expand, you guys have in Texas

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<v Speaker 2>a great canine program in Texas Parks and Wildlife Department,

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<v Speaker 2>and some of those dogs are human remains detection dogs.

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<v Speaker 2>And you know the stories you get from from human

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<v Speaker 2>remains dogs finding people who've been underwater for for long

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<v Speaker 2>periods of time, or they're just extraordinary, they just blow

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<v Speaker 2>your mind.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, the thing that blew my mind when I introduced

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<v Speaker 1>when I got to introduce you with Wild Sheep Foundation

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<v Speaker 1>event the Sheep Show was talking with you guys that

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<v Speaker 1>there was actually dogs trained to sniff out brook trout

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<v Speaker 1>in the water.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, that's right, that's right. That that project grew

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<v Speaker 2>out of a conversation that a conservation biology meeting with

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<v Speaker 2>a great fellow named Carter Cruz who works for the

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<v Speaker 2>Turner in Dangerous Species Fund, and he restored native cutthroat

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<v Speaker 2>to a particular watershed on a property owned by Ted Turner,

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<v Speaker 2>and he took a little bit heat for it, but

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<v Speaker 2>he wanted to In order to do that, he had

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<v Speaker 2>to he had to remove all the brook trout and

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<v Speaker 2>he wanted to make sure that they weren't coming back,

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<v Speaker 2>and so you know, normally the conventional way to do

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<v Speaker 2>that is electro fishing, you know, and and I'm sure

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<v Speaker 2>you've seen seen that happen a lot, you know, in

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<v Speaker 2>the water with probes and stunning the fish and all

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<v Speaker 2>of that stuff. And it's slow, it's expensive, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>under some circumstances, it can be a little bit dangerous.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, sometimes they shock the fish too hard and

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<v Speaker 2>you get mortality from it. So he said, what do

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<v Speaker 2>you think you think we could do this? And I said,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, I have no idea. And long story short,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, we went through this progression of starting with

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<v Speaker 2>a fish in a bucket and then and then removing

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<v Speaker 2>the fish and saying can the dog detect that there

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<v Speaker 2>was a fish in this bucket? And then it ended

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<v Speaker 2>up on the flying d with us having fish in

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<v Speaker 2>traps hidden up under the bank and running the dog

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<v Speaker 2>up this little creek and sure enough they were alerting

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<v Speaker 2>where the where the fish were. So so short answer is, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>you can. You can do that.

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<v Speaker 1>So they're able to actually distinguish a brook trout from

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<v Speaker 1>a cut throat.

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<v Speaker 2>We did a brook trout from rainbow trout. Was our comparison,

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<v Speaker 2>but yes, they can, they can discriminate to species. And

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<v Speaker 2>you know, I always say that's kind of we are saying, Wow,

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<v Speaker 2>they can tell them apart just by their their their scent.

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<v Speaker 2>But you know the truth is, you can tell what

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<v Speaker 2>fish is on the line just by a tiny glance

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<v Speaker 2>when you see it six or eight feet down in

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<v Speaker 2>the water, right and you know, you might know from

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<v Speaker 2>the tug or the flash of the color or whatever.

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<v Speaker 2>And we only use about twelve or sixteen percent of

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<v Speaker 2>our brains for vision, and a dog uses sixty percent

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<v Speaker 2>of its brain for old faction. So you can imagine

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<v Speaker 2>the degree to which they are tuning in to the

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<v Speaker 2>subtleties of that odor. So it makes perfect sense that

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<v Speaker 2>they can they can do it well.

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<v Speaker 1>We come back on More Outdoors on News Talk five

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<v Speaker 1>sixty KLVA talking more Pete Coppolillo with Working Dogs for

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<v Speaker 1>Conservation cane iems are doing incredible things for wildlife out there,

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<v Speaker 1>from stopping wildlife trafficking, busting poachers to working on behalf

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<v Speaker 1>of wild sheep and evasive exotics. And when we come

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<v Speaker 1>back on More out Doors are talk more with Pete

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<v Speaker 1>from Working Dogs from Conservation here on more outdoors on

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<v Speaker 1>news Talk I have sixty KLVI. Welcome back tomorrow outdoors

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<v Speaker 1>on news Talk five sixty klv I talking my favorite topic,

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<v Speaker 1>wildlife conservation with my favorite kind of domestic animal dogs,

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<v Speaker 1>Working Dogs for Conservation. You can learn more about them

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<v Speaker 1>at WD four C dot org. That's WD four C

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<v Speaker 1>dot org. Working Dogs for Conservation. We have the executive director,

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<v Speaker 1>Pete Copolilo on the program. We just heard a mind

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<v Speaker 1>boggling story about dogs able to sniff out. Let's just

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<v Speaker 1>go back to the podcast of the program listen to that.

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<v Speaker 1>The way I got connected with you, Pete was the

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<v Speaker 1>Wild Cheap Foundation, And the biggest problem with wild sheep

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<v Speaker 1>in North America is disease transferred from domestic sheep and

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<v Speaker 1>domestic goats and now looking like odd dad barbarysheep. And

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<v Speaker 1>somehow you guys got connected with the Wild Sheep Foundation.

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<v Speaker 1>So don't just talk a little bit about your work

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<v Speaker 1>that you've done are continuing to do working with Wild Cheap.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, well thanks for asking about that. Wild Cheap

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<v Speaker 2>Foundation has been an amazing partner on this project and

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<v Speaker 2>it really came from a conversation with with Kurt Olt

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<v Speaker 2>who said, hey, you know, this was back in I

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<v Speaker 2>think twenty eighteen, and he said, hey, you know watching

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<v Speaker 2>all the press that the cancer dogs, you know, you

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<v Speaker 2>probably have seen some of it. The dogs at pen

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<v Speaker 2>Vet and other other places do amazing things detecting cancer

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<v Speaker 2>in human patients. And he said, do you think it's

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<v Speaker 2>possible for to do this with Wild Sheep? And we said, well,

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<v Speaker 2>let's let's find out. And so, you know, unlike a

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<v Speaker 2>lot of other a lot of other you know, foundations

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<v Speaker 2>or funders, Wild Sheep Foundations has been has been wonderful

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<v Speaker 2>because they're willing to take a risk on this, and

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<v Speaker 2>we said, let's figure this out. And so they provided

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<v Speaker 2>us with some financial support but also with incredible partnerships,

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<v Speaker 2>relationships and access. So a bunch of of the agencies

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<v Speaker 2>here in the West, Tribes and both state and federal

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<v Speaker 2>agencies said, yeah, we're struggling with the same problem here.

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<v Speaker 2>And what what we learned, what I didn't really realize,

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<v Speaker 2>was it's really the diagnostics are hard for for for TV,

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<v Speaker 2>it's a it's a kind of TV. It's Michael Plasma

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<v Speaker 2>O V. Pneumonier or m OV is the bug that's

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<v Speaker 2>relatively benign in you know, not without effects on domestic sheep,

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<v Speaker 2>but it doesn't it doesn't kill them, they don't keel over.

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<v Speaker 2>But when it gets in in wild sheep, you get

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<v Speaker 2>what what what you know? We get whole herd all

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<v Speaker 2>age die offs. They've dropped dead. And so so we said,

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<v Speaker 2>let's find out. So we are in this this two

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<v Speaker 2>year process of working on it and the and the

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<v Speaker 2>quick answer is, yeah, the dogs are really good at this.

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<v Speaker 2>We started with domestic sheep. We demonstrated that they could

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<v Speaker 2>tell based on a breath sample, so just the odor

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<v Speaker 2>captured in a mask, and we did that during the

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<v Speaker 2>pandemic because we USEMOV as a model for COVID to

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<v Speaker 2>see if they could do that with first line healthcare workers.

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<v Speaker 2>But then we moved on to nasal swabs and scat.

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<v Speaker 2>And the nasal swabs are cool because that's you know,

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<v Speaker 2>it's upper respiratory, that's where the infection really is.

418
00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:25.759
<v Speaker 1>And you know which animal it came from.

419
00:23:25.799 --> 00:23:28.240
<v Speaker 2>That kind of stuff exactly and we know exactly the

420
00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:30.119
<v Speaker 2>status of that animal, and that's how we used to

421
00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:32.880
<v Speaker 2>train them and everything. But what we're really working hard

422
00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:35.799
<v Speaker 2>at and what I'm quite honestly the most excited about

423
00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:38.839
<v Speaker 2>is to do it with scat is to figure out

424
00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:42.759
<v Speaker 2>if an animal just from their scat is infected or not.

425
00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:45.240
<v Speaker 2>And what's powerful about that is you don't have to

426
00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:48.279
<v Speaker 2>catch the animal to do it. So as you know,

427
00:23:48.359 --> 00:23:50.839
<v Speaker 2>and everybody at the Wild Sheep Foundation knows better than

428
00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:53.400
<v Speaker 2>we do because they've paid for a lot of these captures.

429
00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:58.079
<v Speaker 2>It's expensive. It's expensive to capture, you know, sheep. It

430
00:23:58.119 --> 00:24:00.559
<v Speaker 2>can also be dangerous. You know, you get helicopter crashes

431
00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:03.720
<v Speaker 2>and you know, stuff like that. Cheap, get hurt, all

432
00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:07.160
<v Speaker 2>of it. But you know they're all pooping all the time, right,

433
00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:09.839
<v Speaker 2>so we can we can either run a dog through

434
00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:12.359
<v Speaker 2>the landscape or just collect scat and bring it back

435
00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:15.799
<v Speaker 2>to a dog and figure out are there infected sheep

436
00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:18.920
<v Speaker 2>in this in this part of the landscape, and then

437
00:24:18.920 --> 00:24:21.480
<v Speaker 2>we can make management decisions accordingly. Or I don't say

438
00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:23.440
<v Speaker 2>we because I run a nonprofit. I'm not in charge

439
00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:26.279
<v Speaker 2>of anything. I don't have authority or management authority over anything.

440
00:24:26.440 --> 00:24:29.359
<v Speaker 2>But the managers can do that and that's and that's

441
00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:33.519
<v Speaker 2>really great because that enables them before you call the helicopter,

442
00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:38.319
<v Speaker 2>before you've you know, brought everybody in and you know,

443
00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:40.480
<v Speaker 2>these these capture operations are huge.

444
00:24:40.599 --> 00:24:43.079
<v Speaker 3>The logistics, oh yeah, they're massive.

445
00:24:43.160 --> 00:24:46.160
<v Speaker 2>Massive, So it really it's it saves it can help

446
00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:48.960
<v Speaker 2>help save a lot of money and and uh and

447
00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:51.599
<v Speaker 2>and really target things to where you know, you've got

448
00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:55.640
<v Speaker 2>healthy animals, either as a source for new reintroductions, or

449
00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:58.319
<v Speaker 2>if you've got an infected herd, to be careful about

450
00:24:58.359 --> 00:25:00.759
<v Speaker 2>augmenting that herd or putting new inm in or doing

451
00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:04.599
<v Speaker 2>more monitoring whatever. It's it's really a multipurpose tool, depending

452
00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:06.640
<v Speaker 2>on the context. So we're excited about it.

453
00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:10.559
<v Speaker 1>You guys have recently done some work with the captures

454
00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:13.640
<v Speaker 1>in Nebraska and how did how did that go?

455
00:25:14.279 --> 00:25:18.400
<v Speaker 2>It was amazing, you know. The fearless leader on that

456
00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:21.640
<v Speaker 2>was Todd Nordene and he he's he's a he's a

457
00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:24.880
<v Speaker 2>great manager and a great scientist, but also an incredible logistician.

458
00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.000
<v Speaker 2>I mean, getting everybody there, getting the everybody lined up

459
00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:33.079
<v Speaker 2>ready to handle, you know, and then having to hold

460
00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:36.759
<v Speaker 2>sheep for some time while while samples get sent away

461
00:25:37.680 --> 00:25:39.880
<v Speaker 2>because we're you know, we are early days at this,

462
00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:44.680
<v Speaker 2>and if we're using those captured animal samples, we need

463
00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:47.880
<v Speaker 2>to have it confirmed via a lab before we use

464
00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:50.720
<v Speaker 2>that sample to train a dog. So we're still in

465
00:25:50.759 --> 00:25:53.720
<v Speaker 2>these early days when we're gathering all these things. So

466
00:25:53.880 --> 00:25:58.279
<v Speaker 2>it's it's an amazing it's an amazing process. And from

467
00:25:58.319 --> 00:26:02.079
<v Speaker 2>our side, Michelle of Ar is a canine field specialist

468
00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:04.759
<v Speaker 2>and she's been so enthusiastic about this that this is

469
00:26:04.839 --> 00:26:09.559
<v Speaker 2>this is becoming her master's thesis is working with the dogs,

470
00:26:09.880 --> 00:26:14.319
<v Speaker 2>comparing that to other methods of finding out And what's

471
00:26:14.359 --> 00:26:17.160
<v Speaker 2>nice about a dog is you get an answer immediately,

472
00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:20.599
<v Speaker 2>and we're working on getting the training so that we

473
00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:24.680
<v Speaker 2>get them up. We've got accuracies over eighty percent, sometimes

474
00:26:24.680 --> 00:26:26.960
<v Speaker 2>for certain dogs over ninety percent, but we're going to

475
00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:28.759
<v Speaker 2>try to get that into the high nineties. You know,

476
00:26:28.839 --> 00:26:31.279
<v Speaker 2>better than the laboratory diagnostics.

477
00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:35.200
<v Speaker 1>Wow. And you know, just having been on a capture before,

478
00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:42.599
<v Speaker 1>the unbelievable amount of manpower, risk expense. Anything that would

479
00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:45.480
<v Speaker 1>cut down on all of the above would be a

480
00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:48.359
<v Speaker 1>very big positive because there is a sense of urgency

481
00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:50.920
<v Speaker 1>in the sheep world. I mean, wild sheep are facing

482
00:26:50.920 --> 00:26:54.400
<v Speaker 1>some pretty serious situation with disease and things like that.

483
00:26:54.519 --> 00:26:57.640
<v Speaker 1>So being able to partner with working dogs for conservation,

484
00:26:57.720 --> 00:27:00.240
<v Speaker 1>I can totally see how the Wild Cheap Foundation and

485
00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:03.119
<v Speaker 1>you know, also other chapters and affiliates out there, tribes,

486
00:27:03.640 --> 00:27:06.359
<v Speaker 1>state and regional agencies can benefit from this.

487
00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:09.200
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, it's amazing. I mean I didn't know that.

488
00:27:09.480 --> 00:27:13.359
<v Speaker 2>I didn't know the story. Everybody depends on Wattle, the

489
00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:19.000
<v Speaker 2>Washington Animal Disease Lab and Disease Diagnostic Lab two d's,

490
00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:23.799
<v Speaker 2>and they you know, they do fabulous work, but they're constrained.

491
00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:25.799
<v Speaker 2>You know, you have to get the samples there and

492
00:27:25.880 --> 00:27:27.720
<v Speaker 2>then they've got to run up and amplify the DNA

493
00:27:27.799 --> 00:27:31.000
<v Speaker 2>and do all that. So what happens because nobody wants

494
00:27:31.039 --> 00:27:34.480
<v Speaker 2>to move an infected sheep and go infect a whole

495
00:27:34.519 --> 00:27:37.000
<v Speaker 2>new landscape and a whole new population or anything like that.

496
00:27:37.319 --> 00:27:41.680
<v Speaker 2>So what happens is these animals get captured and then

497
00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:44.680
<v Speaker 2>as soon as you've got one animal per stock trailer,

498
00:27:45.240 --> 00:27:48.559
<v Speaker 2>you stop and you wait, and the helicopters on the

499
00:27:48.559 --> 00:27:51.559
<v Speaker 2>ground and everybody's sitting there while the samples go off

500
00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:54.039
<v Speaker 2>to Washington and they get analyzed and then they come back.

501
00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:58.559
<v Speaker 2>So you know, captures don't happen on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday

502
00:27:58.559 --> 00:28:01.279
<v Speaker 2>because there's not time to mail it before the weekend

503
00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:04.759
<v Speaker 2>back you know, fed exit back and forth. So we thought, wow,

504
00:28:04.880 --> 00:28:07.160
<v Speaker 2>this is this is a big inefficiency. This is an

505
00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:11.480
<v Speaker 2>opportunity for dogs to help really streamline that that process.

506
00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:15.920
<v Speaker 2>And you know, new new understanding about the epidemiology of

507
00:28:16.039 --> 00:28:19.440
<v Speaker 2>MV and they're doing some amazing work in Hell's Canyon

508
00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:24.519
<v Speaker 2>and in British Columbia and on on detecting and how

509
00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:28.240
<v Speaker 2>these things roll through herds and how they get maintained

510
00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:31.799
<v Speaker 2>in herds and can undermine lambing. You know, I don't

511
00:28:31.799 --> 00:28:34.240
<v Speaker 2>know if you've had the folks who did the transmission

512
00:28:34.319 --> 00:28:34.799
<v Speaker 2>film on.

513
00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:39.319
<v Speaker 3>But yeah, yeah, so everybody knows that story that you know,

514
00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:41.240
<v Speaker 3>we thought that they'd all die and then you start

515
00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:43.200
<v Speaker 3>to clean slate, but it turns out you've got these

516
00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:45.720
<v Speaker 3>chronic shutters and so we need to figure out who

517
00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:46.920
<v Speaker 3>those chronic shutters are.

518
00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:50.720
<v Speaker 2>So you know, I'm really hopeful. It's it's kind of

519
00:28:50.759 --> 00:28:53.720
<v Speaker 2>a new day for wild sheep. And and you know,

520
00:28:55.359 --> 00:28:59.839
<v Speaker 2>Grey Thornton and and Kevin Hurley and and Kurt Alt

521
00:29:00.200 --> 00:29:02.680
<v Speaker 2>they deserve all the credit because they were really courageous.

522
00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:04.640
<v Speaker 2>They said, hey, let's go for this. We're going to

523
00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:07.440
<v Speaker 2>do this and do it right, and they're sticking by

524
00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:11.640
<v Speaker 2>it and figuring out all these things and it's cool,

525
00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:13.079
<v Speaker 2>it's really exciting to see.

526
00:29:13.400 --> 00:29:16.599
<v Speaker 1>If you like more information about Working Dogs for Conservation,

527
00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:21.200
<v Speaker 1>maybe it'd helped them, go to WD four C dot org.

528
00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:26.680
<v Speaker 1>That's WD FOURC dot org. And if you like to

529
00:29:26.680 --> 00:29:29.640
<v Speaker 1>get involved in helping wild cheap and wild cheap conservation

530
00:29:29.920 --> 00:29:34.519
<v Speaker 1>from Western Texas into Canada, literally around the world, you

531
00:29:34.519 --> 00:29:38.200
<v Speaker 1>can learn more at the Wild Sheep Foundation's website. That's

532
00:29:38.319 --> 00:29:46.240
<v Speaker 1>Wildshepfoundation dot org. Wildsheepfoundation dot org. Both of these organizations

533
00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:50.319
<v Speaker 1>doing cutting edge research and are very open about all

534
00:29:50.359 --> 00:29:51.960
<v Speaker 1>their work they're doing, and they give us lots of

535
00:29:51.960 --> 00:29:55.359
<v Speaker 1>great interviews here on More Outdoors. We'll come back. We'll

536
00:29:55.400 --> 00:29:59.039
<v Speaker 1>wrap up our conversation with Pete Copolilo from Working Dogs

537
00:29:59.039 --> 00:30:04.480
<v Speaker 1>for Conservation, an incredibly fascinating topic. Welcome back to More

538
00:30:04.559 --> 00:30:07.559
<v Speaker 1>Outdoors on News Talk five sixty klv I. This is

539
00:30:07.720 --> 00:30:11.240
<v Speaker 1>Chester Moore talking with Pete Kopolilo. He's the executive director

540
00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:15.400
<v Speaker 1>for Working Dogs for Conservation. Just did a segment about

541
00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:18.880
<v Speaker 1>the work they're doing with the Wild Cheap Foundation, working

542
00:30:18.920 --> 00:30:22.759
<v Speaker 1>to find disease detection and which is a huge, huge

543
00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:25.400
<v Speaker 1>thing in the wild cheap conservation. We've talked about that

544
00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:28.559
<v Speaker 1>with Grey Thornton and others on the program. Before, and

545
00:30:29.039 --> 00:30:32.480
<v Speaker 1>we're gonna talk more about what they're doing here in

546
00:30:32.559 --> 00:30:37.000
<v Speaker 1>terms of like maybe anti poaching work with dogs, which

547
00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:40.119
<v Speaker 1>you know you think about security dogs, bomb sniffing dogs, Pete,

548
00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:42.400
<v Speaker 1>I know you guys have done work in the realm

549
00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:44.519
<v Speaker 1>of wildlife trafficking. Let's talk a little bit about that.

550
00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:48.160
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, well, thank you for asking about that. Yeah,

551
00:30:48.200 --> 00:30:52.079
<v Speaker 2>it's a everybody knows what a drug dog is like

552
00:30:52.200 --> 00:30:54.359
<v Speaker 2>or a bomb dog because we've seen him work out

553
00:30:54.359 --> 00:30:59.559
<v Speaker 2>in public, and anti trafficking dogs do very similar work,

554
00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:04.440
<v Speaker 2>you know that can we were our initial foray into

555
00:31:04.440 --> 00:31:08.519
<v Speaker 2>that world was actually helping the rangers on the ground

556
00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:12.880
<v Speaker 2>and Zambia find wire snares and and the dogs proved

557
00:31:12.920 --> 00:31:14.519
<v Speaker 2>to do that in about a quarter of the time

558
00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:17.480
<v Speaker 2>that the handlers did, and so that was very useful.

559
00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:19.599
<v Speaker 2>But that was also at the time when we had

560
00:31:19.799 --> 00:31:22.799
<v Speaker 2>the global you know, global trafficking of lots of species

561
00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:26.119
<v Speaker 2>of wildlife, but particularly elephants and rhinos. So we trained

562
00:31:26.119 --> 00:31:31.359
<v Speaker 2>on ivory, rhino horn and trafficked animal products and and

563
00:31:31.480 --> 00:31:33.759
<v Speaker 2>you know that that kind of work is really important,

564
00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:38.079
<v Speaker 2>it's fundamental. It happens just like trafficking drugs or or

565
00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:40.400
<v Speaker 2>or you know, guns, or ammunition or things like that.

566
00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:43.400
<v Speaker 2>But at the same time we also started training them

567
00:31:43.440 --> 00:31:47.400
<v Speaker 2>on guns and ammunition so that we could intervene and

568
00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:49.839
<v Speaker 2>if someone was trying to smuggle guns into a protected

569
00:31:49.880 --> 00:31:53.079
<v Speaker 2>area or you know, or or ammunition or something like that,

570
00:31:53.240 --> 00:31:56.680
<v Speaker 2>we could intervene before animal gets killed. And what's really

571
00:31:56.720 --> 00:31:59.880
<v Speaker 2>exciting is nowadays we've got two new technologies that help

572
00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:05.640
<v Speaker 2>us really penetrate farther in and intervene before animals get killed.

573
00:32:06.200 --> 00:32:09.720
<v Speaker 2>The artificial intelligence cameras can identify when of humans in

574
00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:12.839
<v Speaker 2>the image. And as you probably know, it's illegal to

575
00:32:12.960 --> 00:32:16.079
<v Speaker 2>enter protected areas on foot in Africa, so if somebody

576
00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:18.880
<v Speaker 2>crosses into the protected area legally, we can scramble a

577
00:32:18.920 --> 00:32:21.440
<v Speaker 2>tracking dog and get them on there before they kill something.

578
00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:24.640
<v Speaker 2>So that's really really exciting. And then the other one

579
00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:30.799
<v Speaker 2>is is working on using air evacuated vacuumed out from

580
00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:34.960
<v Speaker 2>a container shipping container and passing it through a filter

581
00:32:35.079 --> 00:32:37.880
<v Speaker 2>and then presenting those filters to the dog and seeing

582
00:32:38.440 --> 00:32:41.759
<v Speaker 2>if there's contraband while life contraband inside, and so that

583
00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:43.839
<v Speaker 2>helps us. You know, a lot of stuff gets trafficked

584
00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:47.200
<v Speaker 2>in containers and very few containers get searched, so we're

585
00:32:47.240 --> 00:32:50.200
<v Speaker 2>really excited to be make some inroads on anti poaching

586
00:32:50.240 --> 00:32:51.559
<v Speaker 2>and ending while ife crime.

587
00:32:52.279 --> 00:32:54.920
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you know, this is such a multifaceted issue, and

588
00:32:54.960 --> 00:32:58.920
<v Speaker 1>something that's really concerning me is, you know, the nation

589
00:32:59.039 --> 00:33:02.160
<v Speaker 1>of India has don our really good job on stemming

590
00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:07.920
<v Speaker 1>the tide of tiger poaching there, and other Asian nations

591
00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:11.880
<v Speaker 1>have done pretty good as well. So the some of

592
00:33:11.880 --> 00:33:14.240
<v Speaker 1>the Asian markets that are dictating that they have tiger

593
00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:16.319
<v Speaker 1>parts are now shifting and they're going in es, Central

594
00:33:16.359 --> 00:33:21.119
<v Speaker 1>and South America after jaguars. And in Bolivia alone there

595
00:33:21.240 --> 00:33:25.839
<v Speaker 1>was one particular bus that had dozens of jaguars worth

596
00:33:25.839 --> 00:33:28.920
<v Speaker 1>the claws and they're actually openly advertising for this. So

597
00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:31.920
<v Speaker 1>is this a situation also as well where you could

598
00:33:31.960 --> 00:33:35.440
<v Speaker 1>like train be it like a customs place and train

599
00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:38.839
<v Speaker 1>on finding like cat parts or anything like that.

600
00:33:39.319 --> 00:33:42.960
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, it's I mean, it is as diverse as

601
00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:48.319
<v Speaker 2>you can imagine. A retired CIA agent who helps us

602
00:33:48.400 --> 00:33:50.680
<v Speaker 2>with some of our work one time said, if you

603
00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:53.799
<v Speaker 2>can think of it, you can bet that a trafficker

604
00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:56.920
<v Speaker 2>has tried it and probably gone two or three steps further. Right.

605
00:33:57.880 --> 00:34:00.759
<v Speaker 2>You know, when I started working in Africa back in

606
00:34:02.519 --> 00:34:04.960
<v Speaker 2>like in the nineties. You know, rhino horn was just

607
00:34:05.119 --> 00:34:09.119
<v Speaker 2>considered an aphrodisiac, and now people take it for blood pressure,

608
00:34:09.559 --> 00:34:12.800
<v Speaker 2>they with their when they're consuming alcohol. They think it

609
00:34:12.840 --> 00:34:17.199
<v Speaker 2>increases your alcohol tolerance. They take it for for you know,

610
00:34:17.440 --> 00:34:21.400
<v Speaker 2>all sorts of other things like so the the uses

611
00:34:21.599 --> 00:34:24.599
<v Speaker 2>and the number of species and access to it. With

612
00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:29.119
<v Speaker 2>global trade, there's so much more stuff moving around the

613
00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:32.800
<v Speaker 2>world and so the opportunity to ship wildlife products with

614
00:34:32.840 --> 00:34:36.239
<v Speaker 2>it has just increased exponentially. So this is a this

615
00:34:36.280 --> 00:34:37.960
<v Speaker 2>is a challenge we're going to be working with for

616
00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:39.000
<v Speaker 2>a very long time.

617
00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:43.400
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, very interesting stuff. And you know that the global

618
00:34:43.519 --> 00:34:45.800
<v Speaker 1>nature of the trade, and you know, it's almost like

619
00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:48.000
<v Speaker 1>people are actually, I know, this is for a fact,

620
00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:51.159
<v Speaker 1>this is happening even on a level of like exotic

621
00:34:51.199 --> 00:34:54.800
<v Speaker 1>pet theft in Texas. They're putting into orders you know,

622
00:34:54.920 --> 00:34:58.559
<v Speaker 1>like I want you know, this animal or whatever and

623
00:34:58.840 --> 00:35:01.000
<v Speaker 1>someone with you know, there's the money for it. There'll

624
00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:03.920
<v Speaker 1>be someone out there, you know after that. So it's

625
00:35:03.920 --> 00:35:06.519
<v Speaker 1>really cool to see that you guys and different people

626
00:35:06.840 --> 00:35:09.880
<v Speaker 1>using working dogs are able to uh, you know, be

627
00:35:09.960 --> 00:35:13.880
<v Speaker 1>a tool in the hands of not only like you know,

628
00:35:14.239 --> 00:35:16.760
<v Speaker 1>like the wild Sheet Foundation for Disease detection, but also

629
00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:20.360
<v Speaker 1>law enforcement in the wildlife realm for stopping some of

630
00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:23.760
<v Speaker 1>the poaching, because while poaching in America is bad in

631
00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:26.880
<v Speaker 1>certain areas, for the most part, it's not contributing to

632
00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:31.960
<v Speaker 1>species extinction. Overseas, it's a major problem in terms of

633
00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:34.199
<v Speaker 1>being able to go because you've got groups like Boca

634
00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:38.400
<v Speaker 1>Haram and different terror groups even selling these parts because

635
00:35:38.440 --> 00:35:41.679
<v Speaker 1>of the money to help fund terror operations. So it's

636
00:35:41.719 --> 00:35:44.320
<v Speaker 1>a huge network. And I salute you guys for being

637
00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:45.920
<v Speaker 1>able to find ways to help curb that.

638
00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:48.559
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, well, thank you. And you know, a lot of

639
00:35:48.760 --> 00:35:50.760
<v Speaker 2>a lot of stuff gets trafficked out of We used

640
00:35:50.800 --> 00:35:54.320
<v Speaker 2>to think that, you know, the US was just a

641
00:35:54.400 --> 00:35:58.119
<v Speaker 2>destination country. We would buy these products from overseas, but

642
00:35:58.199 --> 00:36:01.679
<v Speaker 2>now our turtles are getting traffic to China. They're they're

643
00:36:01.760 --> 00:36:04.760
<v Speaker 2>valuable as pets, and so the rarer it becomes, the

644
00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:07.639
<v Speaker 2>more valuable it is. And so maybe just a quick

645
00:36:07.679 --> 00:36:10.440
<v Speaker 2>shout out to our we we helped found something called

646
00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:15.159
<v Speaker 2>the Conservation Canine Officers Association. Those are nine game wardens

647
00:36:16.119 --> 00:36:19.440
<v Speaker 2>I think it's thirty two different states, a number of tribes,

648
00:36:19.480 --> 00:36:24.039
<v Speaker 2>and then two Canadian provinces now and and the President

649
00:36:24.119 --> 00:36:27.559
<v Speaker 2>of the of the association is right there in Texas.

650
00:36:27.719 --> 00:36:31.320
<v Speaker 2>His name's Royce Hilson. He's a handler and has great dogs,

651
00:36:31.360 --> 00:36:33.880
<v Speaker 2>and so you should reach out to him and have

652
00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:35.760
<v Speaker 2>him on because there's a lot going on in that

653
00:36:35.880 --> 00:36:36.599
<v Speaker 2>in that realm.

654
00:36:37.159 --> 00:36:40.039
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, we'll definitely make that happen because we support all

655
00:36:40.039 --> 00:36:42.760
<v Speaker 1>of this awesome work all of you are doing. It's

656
00:36:42.760 --> 00:36:45.880
<v Speaker 1>all about conservation. We can throw in dogs even cooler,

657
00:36:45.960 --> 00:36:48.639
<v Speaker 1>you know. So once again, Pete, if someone wants to

658
00:36:48.679 --> 00:36:51.239
<v Speaker 1>connect with Working Dogs for Conservation, how to do that?

659
00:36:51.719 --> 00:36:54.239
<v Speaker 2>Oh, thank you, thanks for asking. We're on the web

660
00:36:54.239 --> 00:36:57.480
<v Speaker 2>at w D four C. That's the number four w

661
00:36:57.639 --> 00:37:02.199
<v Speaker 2>D four C dot org and we do mostly social

662
00:37:02.280 --> 00:37:05.679
<v Speaker 2>on Instagram and Facebook at just Working Dogs for Conservation

663
00:37:05.760 --> 00:37:06.480
<v Speaker 2>all spelled out.

664
00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:10.000
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, well, it's great work. You guys are awesome and

665
00:37:10.159 --> 00:37:12.639
<v Speaker 1>love to have you back on in the future. Working

666
00:37:12.679 --> 00:37:16.519
<v Speaker 1>Dogs for Conservations something that's really touched my heart. I mean,

667
00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:19.760
<v Speaker 1>it's amazing to see that these dogs, most of them

668
00:37:19.760 --> 00:37:23.119
<v Speaker 1>that are rescue dogs of all kinds, of mixed breeds

669
00:37:23.159 --> 00:37:27.000
<v Speaker 1>and everything else that are out there literally saving wildlife

670
00:37:27.079 --> 00:37:31.000
<v Speaker 1>all across many landscapes and doing great work to stop

671
00:37:31.039 --> 00:37:34.639
<v Speaker 1>the spread of invasive exotics right here in the great

672
00:37:34.679 --> 00:37:37.360
<v Speaker 1>state of Texas. So it's just really neat to be

673
00:37:37.360 --> 00:37:40.960
<v Speaker 1>able to see how people are using great innovations with

674
00:37:41.159 --> 00:37:45.039
<v Speaker 1>technology to help wildlife. We've had even people doing cloning work,

675
00:37:45.639 --> 00:37:48.320
<v Speaker 1>like with the blackfooted ferret on the program. But then

676
00:37:48.320 --> 00:37:50.519
<v Speaker 1>you go all the way back the other direction to

677
00:37:50.840 --> 00:37:57.760
<v Speaker 1>you know, this incredible natural created thing, the dog. I mean,

678
00:37:57.760 --> 00:37:59.679
<v Speaker 1>of course man's had a lot of role in breeding

679
00:37:59.719 --> 00:38:02.280
<v Speaker 1>and things like that, and you know, honing the dogs

680
00:38:02.360 --> 00:38:05.199
<v Speaker 1>certain abilities, but I mean, this isn't some kind of tech.

681
00:38:05.760 --> 00:38:08.239
<v Speaker 1>This is a dog. It's a great way to use it.

682
00:38:08.320 --> 00:38:11.079
<v Speaker 1>You heard Pete. He said he doesn't think we've even

683
00:38:11.239 --> 00:38:15.800
<v Speaker 1>got close to tapping into what dogs can do. So

684
00:38:16.079 --> 00:38:19.840
<v Speaker 1>very excited to see that work with working dogs for conservation.

685
00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:23.480
<v Speaker 1>You know, we're on the cusp of hunting season and

686
00:38:23.559 --> 00:38:26.760
<v Speaker 1>a lot of guys are using Labradors and Golden Retrievers

687
00:38:26.800 --> 00:38:30.760
<v Speaker 1>and chesapeaks and short hairs and lots of dogs out

688
00:38:30.800 --> 00:38:33.440
<v Speaker 1>in the field doing everything from retrieving dogs to you know,

689
00:38:33.840 --> 00:38:39.880
<v Speaker 1>trailing wounded animals. Dogs really are man's best friend. I

690
00:38:40.039 --> 00:38:43.840
<v Speaker 1>can't imagine my life without dogs, and I've had dogs

691
00:38:43.960 --> 00:38:47.079
<v Speaker 1>my entire life. I will always have dogs. They're a

692
00:38:47.119 --> 00:38:51.400
<v Speaker 1>special part of my life. And you know, they're big

693
00:38:51.400 --> 00:38:53.519
<v Speaker 1>babies at our house. You know, they're great guard dog

694
00:38:53.559 --> 00:38:55.840
<v Speaker 1>they're also big babies. We use them for our outreach.

695
00:38:56.519 --> 00:38:59.840
<v Speaker 1>It's amazing to see the smile that a dog puts

696
00:38:59.840 --> 00:39:02.679
<v Speaker 1>on kids face. It's a really really special thing. And

697
00:39:03.119 --> 00:39:07.639
<v Speaker 1>it's really cool to see man's best friend becoming wildlife's

698
00:39:07.639 --> 00:39:11.039
<v Speaker 1>best friend in certain situations. And you know, one of

699
00:39:11.079 --> 00:39:14.880
<v Speaker 1>the big problems with wild sheep is contact with domestic

700
00:39:14.920 --> 00:39:17.480
<v Speaker 1>sheep because of disease. We've talked about that in the show.

701
00:39:18.679 --> 00:39:21.480
<v Speaker 1>Well think about that. We've had sheep dogs for years,

702
00:39:21.880 --> 00:39:27.079
<v Speaker 1>right protecting sheep. Now we have dogs protecting wild sheep

703
00:39:27.559 --> 00:39:31.920
<v Speaker 1>like from domestic contact. Really amazing stuff, and folks, I

704
00:39:31.960 --> 00:39:35.599
<v Speaker 1>appreciate you. Listening to More Outdoors every Friday here from

705
00:39:35.679 --> 00:39:38.039
<v Speaker 1>six to seven pm Central Standard Time on news Talk

706
00:39:38.079 --> 00:39:41.519
<v Speaker 1>five to sixty KLVI. If you miss the whole program,

707
00:39:41.599 --> 00:39:45.079
<v Speaker 1>listen to the archive on iHeartRadio. Go our KLVI Dot

708
00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:48.280
<v Speaker 1>Conflict on the podcast link you'll see the archives of

709
00:39:48.320 --> 00:39:52.159
<v Speaker 1>the program. Follow me at the Chestermorn Instagram, Higher Calling

710
00:39:52.239 --> 00:39:55.960
<v Speaker 1>Dot at my blog, Higher Calling Wildlife on Facebook. God

711
00:39:56.039 --> 00:39:58.760
<v Speaker 1>bless and have a Great Outdoors Weekend