‘The Best Job A Dog Can Have’: Oregon’s Antipoaching K9, Buck

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 8/7/20 | O Dfw

[w1n1]

Fresh snow had just melted and the scent trail was more than a day old when a yellow Labrador Retriever named Buck went in search of evidence linked to an elk that had been poached on March 19, near Cottage Grove. Time- and snow- work against tracking dogs. Still, Buck was hot on the scent of gunpowder and shell casings. He found casings, also known as brass, among grass and twigs, invisible to the human eye. Three times Buck signaled his handler, Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Senior Trooper Josh Wolcott.

Finding three casings confirmed the story OSP F&W Senior Trooper Martin Maher had heard from two suspected poachers. Five shots had been reported through the Turn In Poachers (TIP) Line, five bullets recovered, two elk were down. During his interview with members of the hunting party, the deceptions of that morning came out. First, the teenager claimed he had shot both elk. He had a tag for one, and the other he had shot accidently. However, his tag was for a different unit so it was invalid. Both kills were poaching. The penalties would be severe.

Then another member of the group confessed. He had poached the second elk in two shots, then picked up his brass to conceal evidence of the crime. They had not anticipated the shots would be reported. Or that they would be approached by Senior Trooper Maher, who would spot the second carcass nearby. And they certainly hadn't anticipated that Buck, Oregon's only anti-poaching K-9 unit, would be able to track the scene of the crime to confirm the number of brass casings following an overnight snowfall.

Buck is just one resource in Oregon's anti-poaching arsenal. The culture of poaching is pervasive and entrenched, as demonstrated by the young elk hunter's inauguration into the deceptive practice of hiding a wildlife crime.

The Oregon Hunters Association- a stalwart in ethical game practices- and Defenders of Wildlife, a national conservation group, both lobbied for stronger legislation and prosecution against poachers. In January, The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) launched a new anti-poaching education and awareness campaign to teach Oregonians how to recognize and report poaching. Because of Oregon’s vast land and water areas, assistance from the public is the only hope for unearthing crimes- and crime scenes- that are all too easy to bury.

That's where Buck comes in. Buck locates gunpowder residue, human scent and evidence trails that troopers would not find visually. Sometimes that scent leads to additional evidence. Sometimes the scent itself marks a specific location. Read the rest of Oregon's first Anti-Poaching K9.

[SES1066]

I’d guess that one BLM approves and one BLM does not.

Good dog, love them Labs, one of Canada’s best exports!

[TigersEye]

Snitches get stitches, Buck. Ya lying dog-faced pony soldier.