3B
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2015
Poop-snif¿ng dogs work for wildlife researchers
‘Too crazy’ for
pets, these dogs
track scat all
over the world
By RICH LANDERS
The Spokesman Review
SPOKANE, Wash. — Shel-
ter dogs too intense or feisty to
be adopted are helping wildlife
scientists by doing what comes
naturally — running through
the woods and snif¿ng for the
poop of other animals.
“But they don’t get to roll
in it,” said Jennifer Hartman of
Conservation Canines. “We’ve
heard those jokes.”
The noses of the canine mis-
¿ts are being put to use in Pend
Oreille County in a pilot proj-
ect seeking more information
about the interrelationships of
wolves and other carnivores —
as well as with their prey.
The dogs are tools for
studying endangered species
and other wildlife that doesn’t
require trapping or tranquiliz-
ing the animal.
“These dogs have been
contracted to work all over the
world,” said Julianne Ubigau,
a high school science teacher
and eight-year veteran with the
program based in the Universi-
ty of Washington’s Department
of Biology.
For example, Chester, a
golden retriever mix, returned
recently from a job of snif¿ng
out bear scat in the French Pyr-
enees.
Scooby, a black Lab mix,
has been to Cambodia, Mo-
zambique, the Alberta oil sands,
Montana and most recently
Mexico for mane wolf research.
The highest pro¿le Conser-
vation Canines project in the
Northwest involves dogs trained
to put their nose to the wind in a
boat and lead researchers to col-
lect the Àoating poop of endan-
gered killer whales.
The new project in northeast-
ern Washington seeks to learn
how the revival of wolves in the
region inÀuences the diets of
other carnivores and their prey.
‘Too crazy’
The right dogs can be
trained within a couple of
weeks to lead handlers to scat
from speci¿c animals so sam-
ples can be collected and sent
to labs for analysis that can
unlock secrets about wildlife
dynamics.
Rich Landers/The Spokesman-Review via AP
Julianne Ubigau, of Conservation Canines, works with
Ranger, front, and Max, back, near Usk, Wash. The shelter
dogs are trained to sniff out the scat of wolves, cougars
and bears.
Rich Landers/The Spokesman-Review via AP
Justin Broderick and Jennifer Hartman play with Chester, from left, Scooby and Max
along the Pend Oreille River near Usk, Wash., June 29 The shelter dogs are trained to
sniff out the scat of wolves, cougars and bears.
“We take the dogs that
can’t ¿nd a home because they
are too crazy to be chosen for
pets,” Ubigau said. “We don’t
want dogs interested in poop.
We want dogs that are obsessed
with playing ball. These are the
easiest dogs to reward and train
to do the job.”
One of the selection tests in-
volves walking through a dog
shelter holding a tennis ball.
“We look for the dogs that
see the ball and quiver,” Hart-
man said. “Their eyes are fo-
cused on the ball. Everything
about them indicates they want
to play with that ball.”
“Then we take them outside
and hide the ball,” Ubigau said.
“We watch how long the dog
will focus on looking for the
ball. We pick a dog that has
an insatiable desire to play; it
would hunt for the ball to ex-
haustion. That’s the dog for us.
“We need dogs with a
strong drive to hunt but not a
strong drive for prey. Our dogs
can’t be interested in chasing
wildlife. Our goal is to be as
noninvasive as possible.”
Less biased
Scat detection dogs are able
to locate samples from multiple
species simultaneously across
large, remote areas repeatedly
over time.
Ubigau says sampling with
detection dogs tends to be less
biased than traditional wildlife
detection methods such as re-
mote cameras, radio-collaring,
hair snags and trapping.
The method can acquire
more reliable information in a
shorter a time.
The ¿ve dogs being used
in Pend Oreille County from
a base near Cusick have been
trained to sniff out the feces of
any carnivore.
“We can change that with a
dog by the way we offer the re-
ward, which is to play with the
ball,” Ubigau said.
In a project that focused on
¿shers, the handlers started by
introducing the dogs to previ-
ously collected ¿sher scat.
“The dogs caught on fast,”
she said. “Before long, we no-
ticed the dogs were often walk-
ing on logs because they quick-
ly learned on their own that’s
where they had a higher prob-
ability of ¿nding ¿sher poop.”
This spring, as Ubigau,
Hartman and Jason Broderick
began the pilot project, they
trained the dogs to ¿nd scat
from coyotes, wolves, bears,
bobcats, lynx and cougars as
well as deer, elk and moose.
“We want data on predators
and prey,” Ubigau said.
In their ¿rst -day session
this spring, the three handlers
and their dogs collected ,
scat samples.
“There’s a lot of poop out
there,” she said, pointing to a
freezer full of it.
Now in the second of four
month-long sessions, they
don’t collect every pile of deer
and moose droppings the dogs
detect or they’d be competing
with the coal trains for hopper
cars to haul their load.
“We’ve scaled back what
we collect or we’d go broke
(on the lab costs),” Hartman
said. “We key the dogs more to
¿nding fresh stuff, since the lab
can get more data from poop
that isn’t totally dried out.”
DNA analysis enables re-
searchers to track individual
animals and make population
estimates. But much more
can be determined from scat,
including diseases, hormone
levels that would indicate preg-
nant females and diet.
“The further you analyze,
the more money it costs,” Hart-
man said. “We have to stay in
our budget.”
On the ball
The handlers are system-
atically working the dogs in a
,-square-mile study area
broken down into 66 cells,
each of which measures 4.8
square miles.
The dog and the handler
wear GPS units that log their
course.
Working with Ranger, the
youngest and newest dog on
the team, Ubigau drove to the
edge of a new cell on Monday,
¿tted the dog with a reÀective
vest and guard that protects his
chest from punctures when go-
ing over logs.
She wore a backpack with
plenty of water, specimen bags,
bear spray and, of course, the
all-important ball.
Within minutes of hiking
into the forest, Ranger made his
¿rst ¿nd and sat to be noticed,
his eyes locked on Ubigau until
she came.
Washington state vet sees chance for
ZRUVHELUGÀXVHDVRQQH[WZLQWHU
WSDA preps for
second season
with virus
deadly to poultry
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Bird
Àu could return next win-
ter with new strains that are
more prevalent in wild birds
and more deadly for chickens,
Washington State Veterinarian
Joe Baker said Monday.
“We have to be ready for the
worsening scenario,” he said.
The Washington State De-
partment of Agriculture has
been reviewing last year’s out-
break and planning to prevent
and respond to a reoccurrence.
One lesson from last year: It
could have been worse.
The virus in Washington was
limited to a small percentage of
wild ducks and raptors, four
mixed-bird backyard Àocks
and a game bird farm of mostly
pheasants. The outbreaks were
spaced apart geographically
and chronologically, keeping
WSDA and the U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture from being
overwhelmed as they quaran-
tined infected premises.
“Frankly, compared to what
happened in the Mississippi
Flyway, we got off pretty easy,”
Baker said. “We can’t necessar-
ily count on that good fortune
the next time it hits.”
The ¿rst U.S. detection of
highly pathogenic bird Àu was
in mid-December at a lake in
northwest Washington. The dis-
ease appeared over the next two
months throughout the West,
including at two commercial
poultry farms in California.
Ranger works with
Julianne Ubigau,
of Conservation
Canines, near Usk,
Wash. The shelter
dogs are trained to
sniff out the scat
of wolves, cou-
gars and bears.
DON JENKINS — Capital Press
A goose flaps its wings last winter in the Coweeman River
in southwest Washington. Migratory birds brought bird flu
to Washington in mid-December 2014. State Veterinarian
Joe Baker says officials need to be prepared for another
outbreak this coming winter.
The Western outbreaks
stopped in mid-February, but
the virus resurfaced in early
March in the Midwest, with
much more disastrous conse-
quences. More than 48 million
birds in states have been
culled, according to the USDA.
The last case was con¿rmed
June in Iowa.
The USDA investigated
outbreaks at more than 8 com-
mercial farms and concluded
that while migratory birds in-
troduced the virus, biosecurity
lapses spread it. Equipment
and humans traveled between
infected barns in the country’s
largest poultry producing states,
the USDA reported.
Also, strong and sustained
winds may have spread virus
particles between barns, ac-
cording to the agency.
Baker said he doesn’t see
airborne spread as a threat in
Washington because the state
doesn’t have clusters of com-
mercial poultry farms.
More concerning is that the
virus may have adapted and be-
come more lethal to chickens,
he said.
For ¿ve weeks in the Mid-
west last spring, the virus
struck only turkey farms, about
. The virus ¿nally infected a
chicken farm in Wisconsin. Af-
ter that, the disease broke out in
chicken farms in several states.
In Washington last winter,
the virus spread among Àocks
with a variety of birds. In Ben-
ton County, backyard chickens
remained healthy though sep-
arated by only a mesh fence
from an infected Àock of chick-
ens, turkeys and ducks.
A virus lethal to chickens
may be spreading among water-
fowl that spend the summer in
Alaska and Canada and migrate
to Washington for the winter,
Baker said.“It could cause us
more problems because there
could be more spread (of the
virus) neighbor to neighbor,”
he said.
It’s unclear how common
bird Àu is among wild birds,
which are not sickened by the
virus. The USDA didn’t con-
¿rm a case of the virus in a wild
bird outside the West until early
March. Since then, cases in sev-
eral states have been con¿rmed.
In May, a dozen Canada geese
tested positive in Michigan.
Baker said it’s possible the
disease is spreading more wide-
ly now among migratory birds.
He said WSDA will try to
impress upon farmworkers and
backyard poultry enthusiasts
the importance of preventive
measures.
“Biosecurity is really some-
thing you have to live everyday.
You can’t just talk about it. You
can’t just draft plans,” Baker
said.
WSDA has posted infor-
mation about protecting Àocks
from bird Àu at agr.wa.gov
FoodAnimalAvianHealth
Rich Landers
The Spokesman-Review
via AP
• Residential
• Commercial
•Cedar Roof Treatments
• Interior & Exterior
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
Eleven farms and ranches
that have been in continuous
operation by the same family
for years have been add-
ed to the state’s list of Century
Farms, the Oregon Farm Bu-
reau announced.
Five more farms reached the
-year mark and will be hon-
ored as Sesquicentennial Farms
during the Oregon State Fair in
August.
With the additions, Oregon
now has , Century Farms
and Ranches and Sesquicen-
tennial Farms and Ranches.
The Century Farms added
this year are: Cheyne Farm,
Klamath County; the Louis &
Anna Falk Farm and Charles
Ludwig Falk Farm, both in Linn
County; Hynes Farm, Marion
County; Taghon Farm, Wash-
ington County; Fisher Patterson
Farm, Marion County; Chris-
tensen Farm, Linn County;
McCready Ranch, Klamath
County; Padget Ranches, Sher-
man County; Gentleacres, Polk
County; and Bingaman Enter-
prises, Union County.
Sesquicentennial
Farms
added this year are: Mid Val-
ley Farm, Washington Coun-
ty; George W. Smith Ranch,
Coos County; James Mon-
roe Hemphill Farm, Umatilla
503-440-2169
Courtesy of Oregon Farm Bureau
The George W. Smith Ranch
of Coos County is among
Oregon’s Sesquicentennial
Farms and Ranches, plac-
es that have been in con-
tinuous family operation
for 150 years.
County; Lieuallen Century
Ranches, Umatilla County; and
John F. Adams Farming Enter-
prise, Umatilla County.
To be eligible, the farm or
ranch has to have remained in
continuous family operation
and attain a gross income from
farm use of at least , per
year in at least three out of
¿ve years prior to application.
Family members must live on
or actively manage the farm or
ranch.
Documentation can include
photos, original deeds, personal
stories or other historic records.
The program is supported
by a partnership that includes
the Oregon Farm Bureau the
State Historic Preservation Of-
¿ce and Oregon State Universi-
ty Archives.
DEL’S O.K.
YOUR #1 SOURCE FOR TIRES
Over 20 years local experience
Jeff Hale,
Contractor
Own style
Every dog has its own
style. Lab mixes tend to range
a little farther ahead than cattle
dog mixes, but they all get the
job done.
The dogs, rescued from un-
certain futures at the shelters,
have found a piece of heaven
with Conservation Canines.
Chester, for example, is
getting gray in the muzzle but
still looking toward a good life
in retirement.
“This will be his last sea-
son,” Ubigau said as she let
him out of his cage to exercise
near the Pend Oreille River.
He immediately came to a vis-
itor, sat on his foot and leaned
against his leg looking for a
scratch.
“He’ll be one of our ambas-
sador dogs when we meet the
public and go to science class-
es at schools. He’s as good at
making friends as he is at ¿nd-
ing poop.”
Oregon adds sesquicentennial,
century farms and ranches
Fre
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Est F
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much brush we crawl through,
the bugs and weather, and then
at the end of a session, when
you’re the most tired, the dog
will go uphill, always uphill,
and ¿nd another poop.”
Hartman had told the story
about Scooby, on an assign-
ment in Africa, ¿nding a scat
as a group of impalas spooked
around the dog.
“They were running and
jumping behind Scooby, but he
just sat focused on the handler
as if to say, ‘Come on; I found
your poop, now let’s play ball.
I don’t care about these other
goofy animals.”’
Ranger was similarly
focused until Ubigau ap-
proached, asked him to back
up, which he did, and tossed
him the ball for several enthu-
siastic catches.
“This is what it’s all about
for Ranger,” she said.
The dog lay on his belly
and continued to give full at-
tention to Ubigau as she col-
lected what she determined to
be a bobcat scat and recorded
the coordinates on the GPS.
Then they moved on.
“It’s a lot of stomping
through the woods,” she said.
“I’ve had people come out
with me and say this is the
best job in the world, follow-
ing a dog through the forest.
But after awhile, they change
their tune when they see how
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