Retired Conservation Canines

This page is dedicated to Moja

The first scent detection dog trained by the Center for Conservation Biology, Moja’s ground-breaking work proved the scat detection dog concept, opening a whole new noninvasive approach to conservation biology: Dogs rescued from animal shelters provide some of the most comprehensive sampling of ecosystems to date. Moja’s legacy has allowed our center to build a program that now includes many resident Conservation Canines and many more detection dogs working for other programs around the world.

Moja served on the grizzly and black bear project in Alberta, Canada and as program ambassador for many years. He appeared in numerous magazine and newspaper articles and was featured twice on Discover.Canada. Moja eventually retired, living happily as the beloved pet of our center director. Sadly, Moja died of heart failure in the summer of 2006. However, his legacy lives on.

All of the dogs in our program have been instrumental to our success. We become closely bonded to them long before their tenure is through. Upon retirement, we find them comfortable homes, usually with a former handler that appreciates their high-energy level even at retirement age. Our retired colleagues are shown below.

: Gator, an Australian Cattle dog, worked for Conservation Canines from 2001 – 2007. He passed up a promising career in narcotic detection work for life in the great outdoors. Gator worked on a number of studies including Jasper, Vermont, and Brazil. He retired at the age of 10 and happily lived out the rest of his days with his best buddy, Heath.

: Mocha began working for the Conservation Canine program in 2005 after she was not offered a position with the Police Department. While her specific breed is unknown, she is thought to be a cattle dog/shepherd/doberman mix, and posses the wonderful temperaments of all three breeds! Mocha and her handler, Lindsay Madden, were one of the first canine-handler teams on the California Fisher project back in 2006. Shortly after returning from her second Fisher project season, Mocha retired from CK9s in early 2008 and now lives with her original handler, Lindsay and Lindsay’s Husband, Jacob. Mocha currently spends hours in front of a warm fireplace and has countless toys to choose from on a daily basis. Mocha’s instantaneous bond and working relationship with her handler inspired Lindsay to pursue her current work as a PhD Student at Washington State University. Lindsay is researching the mutual benefits of human-animal interactions specifically between troubled youth and shelter dogs.

: Ally is a chocolate Labrador mix and worked for Conservation Canines from 2005-2008. She came to us from the Howling Ridge Animal Rescue in Eastern WA. Ally began her career in Alberta, Canada. From there, Ally joined our team in the Brazillian Cerrado and then returned to Alberta in 2007. She retired at the age of 9 and is now living in Montana with her handler and good friend, Julie.

: Frehley came to our program from the Seattle Animal Shelter in 2005. When he arrived, he was emaciated and neurotic – bringing with him a nervous tic where he would chase his paws. The only thing that would get his attention away was playing with his favorite toy. Slowly, he gained more confidence and “normalcy” through working. Frehley started out in our matching program where he would match scats to the individual within a population. After showing a great aptitude for this, he was sent to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California to search for fisher scats. He ended up being one of our main fisher scat-finding dogs and surveyed for them in many locations in both California and Oregon for parts of 7 years. Frehley was also one of our dogs searching for the elusive Jemez Mountain Salamander in New Mexico. In addition, Frehley was the hit of his handler’s wedding as he brought the ring down the aisle. Frehley retired from the Conservation Canines in the fall of 2013 and lived in Ohio with his former handler and best buddy Steven.

: Gabby came to Conservation Canines in 2009. She worked hard during her training sessions and quickly won over all of the handlers with her sweet personality and affectionate nature. While she did not succeed as a CK9, Gabby underwent training as a narcotics dog with Department of Corrections. There she thrived and was soon placed in western Washington as a permanent member of a K9 team! We are thrilled that she is happy and has found such a great place to work.

: Isis was adopted by Dave in the early Fall of 2006. During summer months, Isis has become the “official” dog of the Center for Whale Research (CWR) on San Juan Island where she provides much needed dog fixes for the staff. While she has gone out on the boat with the CWR to see orcas, she usually just waits patiently on “her” sofa at CWR to greet the staff when they get home. Isis is quite the charmer and she often gets a “Oh, you’re cute!” when people first meet her. She’s so sweet she even wags her tail in her sleep! At home, she lives like a queen and her stuffed animals cover the floor. We enjoy long walks all over San Juan Island when the weather and whales permit. Isis’s favorite thing to do in the evenings is to snuggle with her people on the couch. Photo credit Traci Walter.

: Shrek is a Chocolate Labrador-Retriever mix and worked on wolf, caribou, moose, and spotted owl projects. Lulu is an Australian Shepherd and worked on Sierra Nevada red fox and spotted owl projects. They both came to the program in the spring of 2008 and retired to live with their handler, Jodi. Shrek and Lulu have a brotherly-sisterly love-hate relationship. They like to steal each other’s toys and affection but, when it comes down to it, they prefer play time with one another over any other dog. When they aren’t backpacking in the Sierra Nevadas (Shrek likes to carry their food in his doggie-pack), they like to hang at home. They spend their time swimming in the pond, picking (and eating!) apples and berries, and helping mom in the garden.

: Sheila (now Sheba) is a border collie/cattle dog mix who retired to Eugene in 2008. While she was quite the rascal at first, with a lot of love, patience and the right training collar she quickly formed a bond with her human companion that will last several lifetimes. Sheba’s favorite activities include cross-country skiing (especially when she gets to break trail), muddy trail runs, chasing the ball, and cleaning out peanut butter jars. She is also one of the best companions for an afternoon nap! She is looking forward to the day she can move closer to her cousin, retired CK9 Mason.

: Sadie May is a black lab pointer mix who retired to San Juan Island in 2013. She had a long career with Conservation Canines and worked all over the world. Some of her adventures include Mexico for jaguars, Cambodia for tigers, Alberta for caribou and wolves and the White Mountains of Arizona for the Mexican grey wolves. She has a love for toys that has yet to be rivaled by any other Conservation Canine. Her favorite pastime when she’s not chasing a ball? Swimming! She starts to tremble at the slightest hint of water. When she’s not playing, she’ll spend hours sunbathing in the backyard.

: Sasha is a Husky mix who worked on the bear project in Montana in 2009. She came to Conservation Canines from WAIF Animal Shelter on Whidbey Island in 2008. Sasha now lives in downtown Portland, Maine with her best friend Olive the Pug! She loves to chase and be chased—no other dogs can keep up with her pace and tricky jumping maneuvers! She is super affectionate, eager to please, and surprisingly mellow around the house. Her favorite things to do are: swim, play ball, chase frogs around the pond, run as fast as she can in deep snow, and go to the beach.

: Orion travelled the through South America and across the United States seeking endangered species scat for Conservation Canines. Like all the dogs with CK9, he was chosen from a shelter because he was smart and totally loved playing with a tennis ball. Due to his relentless search for scat and his exuberance during his playtime with the ball, he was often the dog of choice to train new dog handlers for CK9s. For if you could handle Orion, you could handle any of their dogs! Orion was retired several years ago and went to live out his final days with his new owner in Central Oregon. He never gave up his love of racing after a tennis ball or scampering through the woods! He will be remembered for many reasons but also because he taught me, that miracles do happen and love does conquer all. He will be sorely missed!

: Waylon was loved by many of our handlers at Conservation Canines. He worked his way into all of our hearts and truly became part of our family. Waylon worked on many studies including sharp-taild snakes and killer whales in the San Juan Islands to the oil sands of Alberta. We will miss his goofy face.

: Our beloved Tucker, most published pup as the number one sniffer for Orca scat in the Salish Sea, retired this year, 2017. He never let his fear of the water hold him back. We wish him all the chew toys he could want in retirement, he’s earned them!

: This little lady joined us way back in 2005. Alli’s spunk and vivacity quickly won her a spot in head handler Heath’s heart. Since becoming a part of the pack, Alli has gone on numerous studies tracking a dozen different species. While her work has taken her all over the country, she is most specialized in species of the PNW. At 13 years old, Alli is settling in to retired life at the side of her best friend. She still loves to play ball, and will affectionately nip on the neck of anyone who sits down and pets her.

: Sampson first joined Conservation Canines in 2008 from the Seattle Humane Society. An adorable black lab mix, people were shocked that he didn’t have a home yet. Unfortunately, he didn’t care at all about a potential new home and would much rather stare down the basket of balls and toys that was in the greeting room at the shelter. Sampson is trained on over 30 species of animals, some plants, and environmental toxins. His super sniffer has been employed to find garlic mustard, an invasive species of plant, and to find PCB toxins in Seattle. Now-a-days, you’re most likely to find Sampson alongside his pals, Julianne and CK9 Casey, in the classroom teaching kids about wildlife research, scatology, and dogs with jobs.

: In 2007, Max joined the CK9 pack from Everett Animal Shelter. At two years old, he was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready for adventure. Most well-known for his work on the spotted owl study finding owl pellets, Max has also been to Cambodia and Alberta among many other locations. He’s traveled by bush plane, by four wheeler, by boat. Max is slowly adapting to his new role as retiree. While he does love to spend time on the couch, he’s never one to pass up a hike or swim!

: Hiccup came to the program from Performance Rescue in 2012. Though he’s named after the character in “How to Train Your Dragon”, the name is quite applicable because his high pitched back sounds a bit like a startling hiccup! Hiccup is probably the cutest dog to work with in the field. When he finds a target, his huge smile fills his entire face! Hiccup loves to blow bubbles in puddles and will run off in search of pools to dip in. If we needed a puddle detection dog, Hiccup would be the happiest pup in the world! Hiccup has worked on multiple wind farm studies across the country. This year, he spent his second summer in the Adirondacks of New York looking for moose scat! The warm weather and beautiful hills made for a perfect puddle-jumping and scat-detecting environment. Back at the kennel for the winter, Hiccup loves to slide around in the fresh snow and play with his best friend, Athena.

: Hooper joined the crew in 2014 and everyone quickly fell in love with this beautiful boy. He was picked up by four of our handlers who were all so excited to meet him, from Snoline Kennels in Arlington, WA. Hooper started his career on the wind farms, and was a super detector scouring all the corn and soybean fields! From there, Hooper went to start a year of cougar detection work. Hooper and his handler, Will, traveled all around the country, car camping and living off the land. These two cowboys traveled from New Mexico to Oregon, down to Utah and over to California. At just three years old, Hooper has a big career ahead of him! Who knows what he’ll be doing in the new year, but we’re sure it will be awesome!

: In 2008, Chester joined our family and filled all of our hearts to the brim. Coming from Seattle Humane, we were shocked that such a happy and sweet dog couldn’t find a home. Chester’s endless energy definitely would have made him a tough house pet, which made him a perfect Conservation Canine! From the wind farms to the Pyrenees, Chester can work on any project with any target species. New handlers get to work with Chester for a few reasons: he is independent, which can be tough, but he’s also loving and always excited to get to work, which makes him a great coworker. His enthusiasm is contagious! Chester is still working at 14 years old! He doesn’t go in the field as much anymore, so Chester has transitioned to work as an education dog, going into classrooms and teaching kids about wildlife conservation! He just loves all the attention.

: Back in 2012, Captain came to our program wide-eyed and frantic. His owners adored their beloved pup, but knew he required a lot of exercise and time in the outdoors to relieve his stress, so they brought him to us. He quickly showed his abilities to work in any environment and with any handler. From the frozen expanse of Banff National Park to the harsh climate of Turkey, Captain has seen and done it all. His endless energy makes him a tough working dog who can trek for miles and miles without stop. This year alone, Captain worked on three different studies examining cougar populations in three different states. At just eight years old, Captain has many years to come as a detection dog. He brightens everyone’s day with his goofy grin and excitement. We’re so happy Captain came to join our pack!

: Since arriving in early August, Dio dove head…. I mean, nose first into his work. Arriving at an extremely busy time for us we decided to deploy him directly into one of our active field sites. A common misconception that we have accidentally perpetuated over the years is that training a new working dog requires a huge amount of time. In actuality it is the handler that we focus on training more than the dog. Dio is a natural and he picked up on the game immediately. For an experienced handler all Dio needed was some basic tweaking of his natural, rambunctious behavior as well as some basic work to improve communication. It is key that the handler and dog respond to one another well and creating a trusting relationship takes time. It wasn’t all rainbows though and on his second day Dio tore a pad. While he was convinced that just the thrill of the chase was worth the pain, we decided he needed to let things heal a bit before getting back to work. He was placed last in line for a few days. While these days were nail bitingly excruciating for our new head-banging hound it wasn’t long before he was back out in the field shattering records.

: Filson joined the pack at the beginning of 2017, and was breaking hearts left and right. Just look at that face! His adorable little ears and fluffy tail made everyone fall in love with him. He needed time to train, though, so he spent the year getting used to our style of work. At the kennel, Filson loves to play with any dog that will put up with him! He also loves all the handlers, and will show his affection by gently holding your hand in his mouth. Filson quickly showed his aptitude for all our training methods, and is always excited to show off his new skills. After a few short months, Filson proved he was ready for the field! In his first study, he helped HawkWatch International by conducting roadside surveys looking for animal carcasses that might cause mortalities of hawks and eagles. He was joined by his handler, Rachel, and friend #CK9Beckett! This study challenged his focus and drive, but he was dedicated to doing the best job!

: When Skye came to Conservation Canines in 2014 from the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society, she was shy and untrustworthy. If you asked her to come inside, she’d look at you skeptically and walk in the opposite direction. With time and patience, Skye grew to be comfortable with all the handlers and with exploring as a team in the field. In this year alone, Skye worked on three intense field studies on opposite sides of the world! From Nepal, to Vietnam, to upstate New York, to northern California, Skye was all over the place! In Nepal and Vietnam, Skye searched for scat from the critically endangered pangolin, the most heavily trafficked mammals in the world. This made the surveys tough, not to mention the thousands of leeches, the thick jungle understory, and the millions of other distractions! Skye spent the rest of the year looking for moose in the Adirondacks, and fisher and marten in northern California. When collecting data, this little powerhouse will quietly let you know to stop working and keep playing. She will emit a quiet yeti call to let you know it’s time to throw the ball.

: Scooby came to Conservation Canines in 2008 at just 2 years old, joining us from the Oregon Humane Society. Scooby was a bit of a challenge for new handlers, who had to think of dozens of ways to get the ball back from him. When he was paired up with his favorite person, Jennifer, their inseparable bond made Scooby comfortable sharing his beloved ball. Scooby is trained on over 30 species and has traveled all over the world! From the frozen mountains of Banff National Park, to the arid and sweltering savanna of Mozambique, Scooby’s work has helped to gather information on rare and endangered species. This past spring, Scooby was on a more local study in northeast Washington looking for large carnivores and ended the year doing roadside surveys looking for animal carcasses.

: In 2011, this pup made his way to Conservation Canines from the United Animal Friends. With his striking markings and badger-like strut, he quickly nuzzled his way into head handler Heath’s heart. Together, they have traveled around the country contributing to research on some of the toughest conservation questions! One of Pips’s favorite projects is the fisher study in central California. With miles of varied terrain to survey and tons of scat to find, Pips loves the freedom and excitement of this research. Pips likes to think of himself as kennel master when he’s back at home base! Picking up stray wood chips and helping find missing toys, he keeps things organized and tidy. He likes to jump up on logs around the yard to get the best vantage point.

: Adopted in 2012 from the Prison Pet Partnership, our handlers quickly fell in love with #CK9Winnie. She’s silly and wiggly, super smart and super dedicated. In the field, Winnie is highly capable and shows off her skills by walking logs and navigating tricky spots with ease. 2017 was a big year for Winnie! Starting back in January, she left for 11 months of car camping and surveying for a variety of species across the western states. Many of her projects focused on cougars and their activity in New Mexico, Oregon, and California. Winnie also did some work looking for fisher and marten in California. These projects covered a diverse range of habitats and each posed a unique set of challenges. But no challenge was too big for Winnie, who can problem solve out of any situation. Back at the kennel for the first time in 11 months, Winnie is excited for some rest and relaxation. Just kidding! Winnie is still full of energy and always ready to go on a hike or play ball.

: This dog is often confused for a small horse, and definitely has the work ethic of one! Before finding us, Ranger was at the Family Dog Rescue in San Francisco, where he was known for his silly smile, big ears, and funny little tail. While he was clearly a cool dog, he couldn’t get adopted because of his high energy and insatiable need to play fetch! Luckily, the shelter recognized his work ethic and called on us to come get him in 2013. Ranger has worked on projects all over the country: bat and bird carcass detection on wind farms, large carnivore tracking in northeast Washington, tiny weasels in northern California, huge ungulates in upstate New York, and the mighty goshawk in eastern Washington! Though he might intimidate some due to his size– our biggest dog at the kennel– Ranger is a sweet and gentle soul! His handlers are always impressed by his work drive and excitement in the field.

: With a personality as big as his smile, Jack can be a handful for new faces. Luckily it’s that high drive and persistence to play that makes him a rockstar in the field. He is the Jack of all trades, working on studies that require him to check up trees for bats, dig up carcasses hiding in cracks or holes, and even directing handlers towards whale scats from the bow of a boat. His big grin is contagious in the field and erratic tail wag a dead giveaway that he is on a scent. Good luck getting him out of the pond, because you won’t find another dog that loves to swim more than this guy.

: Duke was a wild ramblin’ man in his younger days before he made it to CK-9. With roots beginning in the grasslands of the Midwest, he packed up and headed across the country to San Francisco where he found himself surrendered to the SF Animal Care & Control. With a few guardian angels watching out for him, he spent a little over 3 month at the SF SPCA trying to find his place in the bigger world.

: This handsome devil, Beckett (aka Lil Man) is one of the new Wild Bunch on their top secret mission this summer. Beckett was a bit of a long shot that’s quickly becoming a underdog of success. Beckett isn’t just any dog though, he’s a 110% of fluffy happiness, he’s never afraid to take cuteness up to 11 and he loves to take time to turn even the unfriendliest of dogs in to one of his fans. Fortunately for us he isn’t so much into people, in fact, he’d rather anyone he doesn’t know just keep their distance which works just fine for us and gave him a chance at one of the coolest dog jobs in the world. Please officially welcome Lil Man to the 2015 Conservation Canines!

: Zilly joined the program in 2015 from a family who saw how perfect she was for our line of work. She’s ball crazy and eager to take on new challenges… as long as she’s got her pals by her side! In her first year, Zilly worked on wind farms and brought laughter and joy to everyone there. Though not intentionally, Zilly is a goofball and makes all her handlers laugh constantly. She thinks of herself as a very serious pup, but we all see her silly side! This summer, Zilly worked in the Adirondacks looking for moose scat. In the fall, she accompanied her best friend, Suzie, to California to look for fisher and marten scat. Where does she get her name from? Well, Zilly is the only dog we know that will stick her tongue out while working into a scent. This dog could easily be a lizard, or Godzilla!

: Athena is a fun-loving and happy pup who joined our pack at only 1 1/2 years old. Though she’s only been with the program a short time, Athena has already had quite the career. On her first project, Athena worked on a wind farm in Illinois looking for bird and bat carcasses. From there, she worked in northeast Washington on a large carnivore study, tracking wolves, bears, cougars, coyotes, bobcats, and mustelids. Even though she was still pretty new to the program, Athena was chosen to travel all the way across the Pacific to Nepal and Vietnam, where she worked hard to find signs of pangolins, the most heavily trafficked mammal in the world! Athena was a rockstar, and thrived in the difficult terrain and climate. Her innate curiosity helped her handler through some tough days dealing with leeches, venomous snakes, steep slopes, and torrential down pours. Athena had a quick turn around once she got back to the US, driving cross country to the Adirondacks of upstate New York. Looking for moose scat, Athena actually encountered a bull moose while surveying! The population in the ADK is very elusive, so this is a rare occurrence for the teams on this study.

Retired Conservation Canines

This page is dedicated to Moja

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