Bear was a conservation icon. From humble beginnings in a Montana shelter where he first crossed our path at WD4C, Bear had an illustrious and joyful 12 years of service with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered & Nongame Species Program. We’re so glad to have helped with his training and collaboration on that wonderful partnership.

Camas thought she was hilarious, and she was. Obsessed with toys and play, she’d splash in any water she could find and she’d bring you any object (even a piece of bark) for you to toss. One of our very first founding dogs, she helped us learn an incredible amount about this work, and was critical for our ground-breaking projects. Her work ethic was so high, we were amazed at her unique disinterest in non-target animals while working. We miss her so incredibly deeply, we’d take a clone of her any day.

Chai was exceptionally sweet and loving, and fast and thorough in her work. She helped play a crucial role in detecting ivory, bushmeat, guns and ammunition, big cat skins, pangolin, and more, and was one of the first dogs to go to Zambia and be part of Conservation South Luangwa’s K9 unit. We learned so much from her and miss her greatly.

Colt rocked it as a “proof of concept” dog, letting us know - after only a few repetitions - that dogs could indeed recognize the scent of the new target being tested. He was a standout star in discrimination work, swift, methodical, and accurate. Colt was truly one of a kind and the bestest of friends.

Fenix was a lot to handle for her original family and came to WD4C as a surrender. We agree that she was a lot, but with focus and incredible toy drive, she also accomplished a lot! Upon deployment to Africa to help with anti-trafficking work, in her first 3 ½ years with the unit, she was part of 322 operations and found 170 targets. She was a great dog and we’re so grateful we could give her the joy of doing what she loved to do.

Finny was our earliest dog. We didn't know what dogs were capable of when this all started and Finny said, "Lots! Bring it on!" A social dog who loved to greet people, Finny helped find bear, cougar, wolf, ferret, desert tortoise, and more. In one peer-reviewed publication his track is immortalized: his human walked 14km that day, but Finny searched 57km! Running everywhere was Finny's natural state, and he only started to walk after he was 10 years old. He was the happiest of fellows, and showed us that this was fun, fun, fun for the right kind of dog.

We were Lily’s 6th home when she came to us at 3 years old. She was a lot of dog even for us when she arrived, but she turned out to be a crazy amazing asset to our team and for conservation. Trained to 26 different target scents, not only was she phenomenal in the field, but she was also a patient teacher. She was with us for many years (living to the wonderful age of 17!), helping so many humans learn the ropes of canine conservation, and we are forever grateful. Her legacy truly lives on through WD4C.

Easily working his way into our hearts, Orbee racked up quite a tally of projects over the course of his working years, including a variety of diverse scents that ranged from Cross River gorilla to otter and mink to wolverine and fisher. One of Orbee’s claims to fame was when he found a target lizard scat under a cow patty. When we inferior humans couldn’t see the scat, he took his paw and hit the patty to flip it up in the air and visually expose the scat…all so that he could finally get his ball. He is so deeply missed.

“Pepin was almost always too much. Too big, too enthusiastic, too affectionate, too eager to please. He gave himself fully to every task and showed that having too much heart, and only saying, 'yes' could be an inspiration to all of us in the field or in a home.” Pepin’s legacy is large and includes working on 20 different and ground-breaking scent targets, traveling as far as Myanmar and Zambia, meeting many people (including the legendary Dr. Jane Goodall!), and helping to inspire the children’s book, “Trouble Dog”.

Rio was one of the first “all-around” conservation dogs in North America, and his handler recalls he will always be one of her “greatest joys”. Extremely charismatic, he possessed an incredibly strong work ethic and had an intense willingness to work in even the most challenging situations. He excelled in every project he worked on, and many of the scents in his repertoire were first-ever targets for conservation dogs. Overall, after working on 28 projects for 9 animal and plant species which led to 12 scientific papers and 3 book chapters, we're pretty sure Rio gave most biologists a run for their money in the "contribution to conservation" department. From his first day of work to his last, Rio remained fantastically eager to get his search vest on and start his detection activities.

Found as a stray in Montana, Ruger went from the shelter to Carroll College’s Anthrozoology program, to WD4C. He was one of our first dogs we took to Africa for anti-trafficking work in Zambia. Despite him later losing his sight, which some would think could have a liability, Ruger just focused entirely on scenting firearms, bushmeat, pangolin, ivory, and spotted cat skin and bones. An amazing dog, and he is deeply missed.

Seamus, we love everything about you. Out of the shelter and to WD4C, this ball crazy border collie was a leading force on our endangered kit fox and lizard projects, working more than 29 projects on those two species alone in just nine years. He was also instrumental in teaching us what was possible with dogs in the detection of Dyer’s woad, revealing invaluable insight and new biology lessons that went on to serve all future dogs (and humans) to work on this invasive weed species. Hands down an ah-mazing search dog, he absolutely lived for the thrill to do his job and adored attention - even adding an extra pep to his step when he knew media or other partners were watching closely.

With love, Tesla was rehomed to WD4C after his family saw the true need surface for him to have a job. A focused athlete, Tesla did indeed love to work, committing all energy and effort to the task, and he became a phenomenal conservation canine. He was one of the first to help rangers find rhino (even tracking individual rhino!) in Zambia, among his many other talents. An instrumental partner on so many projects, his legacy lives on in the conservation efforts still happening there today.

A career change dog from Schutzhund work, where he did well but didn’t excel at bitework, Tsavo was a big, handsome, silvery German shepherd. On some early assessments, we found his enthusiasm for this work was incredibly evident (including some mishaps of boxes and test samples being vigorously strewn all over!). He also had a high prey drive, but we were able to work through that based on his love for toys, and find his perfect match on detail work, especially with challenging plants. He was so sweet and such an amazingly good dog.

Added to our program as a rescue, Utah picked up on his new job with ease. He started his career helping manage the invasive plant Lespedeza and was a huge asset in our kit fox and bear projects. With his sensitive nose and quick mind, he worked on 7 different scent targets in his time with us.

Wicket taught us so much, and her skills are legendary. Trained to a whopping 32 target scents, her drive and technical skill knew no bounds. She helped inspire so many including the children’s book, “Trouble Dog” and was even posthumously awarded a Frehel Fellow Award. You can read more about her here.

No one was a stranger to Tony, who was an enthusiastic greeter to all he crossed paths with. He was your best friend the second you met him & he was the perfect demo dog because he loved to be the center of attention! He was a great working dog who loved to detail whether it was on invasive mussels on boats or tiny lizard scat.  He is terribly missed as a great friend, and as an amazing conservation dog.

Tia had some medical autoimmune challenges, but we were able to work through that to give her a wonderful working career. She was absolutely brilliant on her target scents, including blunt-nosed leopard lizard, brook trout, Gila monster, and many others. She was small for a shepherd, but full of heart. We so miss her and her exuberant personality and zest.