Will Bark For Science

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On their second job ever, Collette Yee and her partner were assigned a difficult job: locate transient whale poop in the ocean before it sinks. Luckily, Collette was partnered with Jack, a blue healer mix trained to sniff out cryptic odors from things that conservation biologists have trouble collecting on their own. Producer Berly McCoy reports on Jack and the growing field of dog detection conservation that helps science by sniffing out everything from invasive crabs to diseased plants to endangered species.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This message comes from Wondery.
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0:15.5	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:20.9	Okay, Jack's going to take off and go look for the sample.
0:25.6	Emily meets Colette Yee and Jack.
0:30.1	Is Jack a dog?
0:32.2	Jack is a dog.
0:33.2	He is a bluehealer mix with floppy ears and an intense love for playing with his ball.
0:39.6	He was originally a shelter dog, but now he is employed.
0:43.5	Oh, what's his job?
0:44.4	So Jack and Collette work for rogue detection teams based in Rice, Washington, a company that trains rescue dogs to sniff out, well, a lot of things.
0:55.2	And we have a piece of bumblebee nest out right now.
0:59.5	Hmm. Bumblebee nest.
1:01.4	Finding live bumblebee nest is something Jack actually was trained to do.
1:05.8	He helps with conservation projects.
1:08.2	So in search of endangered bees, there was a time that Jack helped scientists learn about their habitat.
1:13.5	Wow, because the nests are kind of hard to find. They are if you're human. But not for Jack.
1:18.7	Not for Jack. Good job, kid. Good job. And he just found the sample and I give him to stay until I get there and then he gets his ball.
1:29.1	Good boy.
	...

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