Story Tools

Email this story | Print this story

Indexes

Today's Stories

Last 7 Days

Top Blogs

• He could face life sentence

• Two injured in drive-by shooting in Lodi

• Crafty canines

• Environmental film festival comes to Lodi tonight

• Shooting scenario training

• Regional Roundup

• Lodi conference teaches sustainable agriculture, watershed management

• City Council excited about Lodi Avenue art project

November 2nd, 2009

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

November 7th, 2009

• Lodi High graduate was at Fort Hood

• Lining up for flu shots in Lodi

• Tour packs buses as birdwatchers admire Sandhill cranes

• City of Lodi staff looking into possibility of limiting number of taco trucks

• Daytime thieves targeting Lodi homes

• Lodi High School rally featured on 'Good Day Sacramento'

• Out of control

• Homicide suspect Anthony Hubbard arraigned

• Regional Roundup

• New Lodi Memorial rule to combat spread of H1N1: Visitors must be older than 16

November 6th, 2009

• Short sales make up nearly half of Lodi market

• Regional Roundup

• Lodi man accused of smuggling drugs, weapons for inmates at state prison

• 'I-5 Strangler' sentenced to 6 terms of life

• Jury convicts Acampo man of torture, assault of his girlfriend

• Young girl is 200,000th person to assemble AIDS, HIV care kit

• Woman in wheelchair struck by car

November 5th, 2009

• A lower Lodi Lake

• Streetside scarecrows

• San Joaquin County considers moratorium on new Williamson Act contracts

• Speakers address Lodi Unified School District budget shortfalls, plea to keep programs

• Armed robbers still targeting Lodi shops

• Regional Roundup

• California voters have final say over $11 billion water bond

• Weekend bus service to continue until Lodi City Council makes decision

• Paul Tebbel shines spotlight on sandhill cranes

• Your complete guide to Sandhill Crane Festival

• David Diskin is first to give an invocation under new city of Lodi policy

• Man wanted in Acampo homicide gives up to San Joaquin County Sheriff's detectives

November 4th, 2009

• Candle fire

• Rep. Jerry McNerney sets telephone town hall for Thursday

• Jason Behrmann is unanimously named Galt's city manager

• Regional Roundup

• Galt City Council argues over ordinance hiring residents

• San Joaquin County sues state over prison hospital planned for Stockton

• Big win for Allen Baroni in reclamation election

• California sends Democratic loyalist John Garamendi to Congress

• Bicycling father raising awareness of teen suicide

• Lodi City Council weighs raising fares to restore some bus service

November 3rd, 2009

• 500 attend service for Kyle Coumas

• Correction

• Galt considers ordinance that would require city contractors to hire locally

• Regional Roundup

• Have you seen a missing guide dog puppy in Lodi?

• Galt man dies after weekend Highway 12 crash

• Jason Behrmann is top candidate for Galt city manager

• Deputies name suspect in fatal Acampo shooting

• Clarification

November 2nd, 2009

• Downtown Lodi trick or treat

• Public Meetings

• Correction

• Kyle Coumas funeral today

• 27-year-old man shot to death Saturday night in front of Acampo home

• Regional Roundup

• Group investigates reports of haunting

• Sandhill Cranes Festival comes to Lodi next weekend

• Lamborghini lovers gather for show, fine wine, luncheon in Woodbridge

• Lodi's 'Biggest Loser' Christy Richesin runs 5K Halloween race

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• Bible is entwined with American civic life (135)
• I predict: A conservative tide will rise in 2010 (74)
• David Diskin is first to give an invocation under new city of Lodi policy (70)
• The Treaty of Tripoli hoax (60)
• Universal health care solves big problems (54)
• Here's what my father knew about the assassination of JFK (35)
• Stuck in neutral? Hardly! (35)
• Words from our forefathers (27)
• City of Lodi staff looking into possibility of limiting number of taco trucks (24)
• Majority cannot deprive the minority (24)

ADVERTISEMENT

Crafty canines

Fish and Game trains dogs to sniff out invasive species in area

The newest weapon in the state's fight against invasive species has four legs, a powerful nose and answers to the name of Louie.

The state Department of Fish and Game has begun using six canine teams to search for invasive species like zebra mussels as well as often-poached animals like abalone and other illegal items.

One of the teams is based in Stockton and consists of Fish and Game Warden Lori Oldfather and her bright-eyed, energetic yellow Labrador retriever, Louie.

Zebra mussels and quagga are small freshwater mussels that can cause big problems for water systems and native habitats. The animals can spread from different lakes and waterways by sticking to boats. In the last year, Fish and Game inspected nearly 83,000 boats, trying to halt the spread of the two species.

Louie and Oldfather were recently practicing their inspections at the Mokelumne River fish hatchery using a training boat. Oldfather would hide items in the boat and it was up to Louie to find them.

"Where is it, Louie?" Oldfather commanded.

Tail up and nose wriggling, Louie sprang into action sniffing along both sides of the boat. Seconds later he found the abalone Oldfather had hidden under the bow.

"Good job, Louie," Oldfather said as she bent down to scratch Louie's ears, her eyes shining with pride, before throwing him his blue and orange ball.

The pair graduated in February from the K-9 academy located in Willits and have been working everyday on bonding and expanding their searching skills.

At the academy, the dogs are first trained with scented tennis balls shot into the air from hydraulic boxes. The dogs had to find the balls and bring them back to the box with a scent matching the ball's scent. After mastering the boxes, the dogs were trained to find real quagga hidden on boats, much like Oldfather and Louie continue to do each day.

Their reward? A ball just for them.

"He's great because he has no bias ... his only bias is to his ball," Oldfather said.

Oldfather is also training Louie on her own to sniff out deer and bear blood for the upcoming hunting season when wardens often face hunters and poachers trying to hide meat and carcasses in various parts of their boats or vehicles.

She hides the packets of meat and blood throughout a boat and has Louie jump in and find them. With a little prompting, he is sitting, alert and focused. Eager to see if he has found the right thing, he stares at the exact spot where Oldfather hid the meat: sealed in a bag and closed in an airtight cooler on top of a seat on the boat. Another ball for Louie.

"Good boy, Louie," Oldfather praises once more.

While the initial training is complete, Oldfather and Louie continue to work with the canine academy.

"We meet with the master handler every month (but) we continue our communication between the two of us everyday," Oldfather said.

Oldfather has been with Fish and Game for about 18 years but hasn't ever had a trained dog working with her. However, she said her new partner will be quite beneficial.

"I know what a big help a dog can be to a game warden ... it can be a concern to the bad guy," Oldfather said.

"They're a huge benefit to our job because they can find anything," added Oldfather's partner, Game Warden Alan Gregory.

Gregory doesn't have a trained dog, but brings his "companion" dog with him to work each day to help out with everyday tasks and to keep him company.

How to sponsor a dog team or make donations

Game Warden Lori Oldfather and Louie are part of a program called Californians Turn in Poachers (Cal-TIP). The program runs six canine groups designated to find harmful, invasive species and illegal items hunters and poachers may try to hide.
The canine program began through grant money, but the Department of Fish and Game plans to fund the program with donations.
All donations are tax deductible and can be sent directly to CalTIP Inc., K-9, 17 Mace Blvd., Suite J PMB 125, Davis, CA 95618.

Quagga and zebra mussels

A bag of quagga mussels. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

Quagga and zebra mussels first arrived in the United States from Europe in the 1980s, according to a fact sheet by the Department of Fish and Game.
The animals have been spreading west ever since and cause problems because of their prolific growth. Quagga and zebra mussels can clog pipes that carry drinking and irrigation water, interfere with hydroelectric systems and also damage the environment in general.
Both zebra and quagga mussels were found in Lake Havasu and the San Justo reservoir this January. However, there haven't been any reported in San Joaquin or Sacramento counties, according to Fish and Game.
— News-Sentinel staff.

Many of the dogs that went through the academy were companion dogs but after graduation were purchased by Fish and Game to be used in the field, said Erin Gallop, public information officer for Fish and Game.

The dogs cut down on costs and help with warden efficiency.

"The dogs could save us 800 personnel hours a year," said Alexia Retallack, spokeswoman for Fish and Game.

The academy was first funded by seed grants and now the department is accepting donations and sponsorships of dog and warden teams, said Retallack.

The wardens who trained their companion dogs were paired up with them; however, Oldfather and Louie are a special match-up.

"I'm the lucky one that got a new dog," Oldfather said, adding that even though her companion dog didn't pass training, she still has a great love for Louie.

"(There is) almost too much of a connection. I let him sleep on the couch," Oldfather said.