Boonie dog joins USDA’s snake detector team

Agu and his trainer, Paul Roberts, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, are all smiles after receiving medical clearance from the Boller Veterinary Treatment Facility. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

YIGO, Guam—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services Brown Tree Snake Detector Dog Program has a new recruit.

Boonie dog Agu, formerly of the Guam Animals In Need shelter, has joined the fight against the invasive brown tree snakes that have caused significant ecological and economical damage on the island.

Agu caught the attention of GAIN staff member Kelsey Graupner, who recognized his intelligence and potential as a working dog. “I immediately noticed that Agu was very friendly, and extremely quick to learn,” says Graupner. The USDA’s dog detector teams have been working in Guam since 1993 to control the invasive brown tree snake population in Guam and prevent its spread to neighboring islands. The snakes have caused the extinction of 10 endemic bird species and have proven challenging to control over the years. With rigorously trained dogs joining in the fight against brown tree snakes, the number of snakes caught has increased significantly over the last year.

The selection process for working dogs is rigorous, and the USDA’s dog trainers look for small dogs with high energy and intelligence, willingness to work in and around areas with loud noises and high activity, and a good work ethic. The dogs must also have a clean bill of health to handle the challenges of working. The trainers typically look for terrier mix dogs that have a natural prey drive useful in seeking out snakes. Once trained, these dogs search all outbound cargo, vehicles, and aircraft departing Guam to help protect other islands from suffering the same fate as Guam.

When Graupner heard the USDA Brown Tree Snake Canine Program was seeking new additions to the team, she reached out to Patrick Barnhart, supervisory wildlife biologist and canine program manager in Guam. After several lengthy behavioral evaluations, Agu was brought to the Boller Veterinary Treatment Facility on Naval Base Guam for his final evaluation. He passed the physical tests with flying colors and was formally accepted into the USDA APHIS WS Brown Tree Snake Detector Dog Program and adopted from GAIN.

According to GAIN president Lauren Cabrera, “Boonie dogs are healthy, smart, and resilient. Many of them descended from dogs brought over during World War II. Between their intelligent ancestry and natural selection, only the smartest and sturdiest boonies survive. We should be proud of our unique island mutts and treat them as such.”

Agu is a testament to the intelligence and capabilities of shelter dogs. He is now part of a dedicated team of dogs helping to protect the Pacific region’s ecology and wildlife from invasive brown tree snakes. (PR)