LAKEPORT — Attracting statewide notice Thursday afternoon, the California Department of Fish and Game brought five state-certified quagga dogs to the docks of Lakeport”s Library Park for a live dog inspection simulation. Boats, both setup and random, put the canines to the test for three-hours sniffing out frozen quagga samples.
DFG Lt. Lynette Shimek said the test took a special significance, “The quagga presents potential threats throughout California, not just Lake County, but anyplace lakes and reservoirs exist. These five dogs from around the state were trained and quagga-certified February 15. With the high level of concern about Clear Lake, this is a good time and place for a live training exercise.”
Shimek, a former Lake County warden, is now the DFG”s K-9 Program Coordinator for all of California. The DFG”s deployment of K-9 units to sniff out the mussels is cutting-edge, she said, adding that California will be the first state to use dogs to detect them.
“We are certainly in the spotlight now ? not only in California ? but many other states are looking at us to see how this works. This quagga threat scares the heck out of me. This is a proactive step to stop this invasive species,” she said.
Television cameras, reporters, and curious onlookers looked on as the dogs were put through their paces. Six boats were parked at the Library Park off-ramp, half setup with planted frozen mussels, and half were random boats from nearby spectators. Frozen mussels were planted in the pipes and interiors of the setup boats, too. The dogs were then tasked to find the mussels and signal detection to their handlers.
“They”ve been through the training in Willits, but it is good to get them out in field in a real world training exercise. A setting like this in Lakeport presents a great test for them,” she said.
One dog, Copper, started off strong, but after several television shots and pictures, the canine was clearly excited by all the interest. Hanging its tongue with mouth wide open, Copper”s trainer Roxanne Bowers, an Alameda County DFG officer, said, “He”s really huffing out there. It is time for a rest. He”s been very active with all the attention.”
Shimek said the dogs and their respective trainers had completed four weeks of academy training in Willits for quagga detection, but she added that the canines were multiple-purpose dogs also trained for firearms, drug searches, and manhunts.
Speaking to the Bay Area media, Shimek noted the trained dogs scenting capabilities as being several times stronger than a human”s which makes the canines very useful for numerous field applications, and they are trained to detect many odors, such as abalone, gun powder and deer.
“These dogs are not only trained for quaggas, but they can locate an expended rifle cartridge casing in the woods or a quagga mussel on the intake of a boat motor,” she said.
There will eventually be 24 dogs trained and certified for quagga detection throughout the state over the next 12 months. The designated Lake County dog and its handler Warden Loren Freeman will be certified April 25, according to Shimek.
Contact Managing Editor Rick Kennedy at rkennedy@record-bee.com
