Zipper the dog retires from bear-guard work for oil industry

Alasja Dispatch News ^ | July 11, 2015 | Alex DeMarban

[skeptoid]

NINILCHIK -- Oil companies hire gun-toting bear guards to protect crews from attack, but a new wildlife problem arose a few years ago -- animals were snatching seismic nodes used in the search for oil and gas.

That’s when now-retired bear guard Mark Chihuly -- who never went anywhere without his four-legged friend, Zipper -- decided to put the golden Lab on the case.

Chihuly had the idea a few years ago because Zipper could find pretty much anything after a few minutes of training, even long-lost items buried deep in snow.

At 8 years old, the pooch also has an excellent grasp of English.

[skeptoid]

Good dog!

The gogles kept the rotor wash dust out of her eyes (and note the custom made "hard hat")..

[Joe 6-pack]

WOOOF!

The Doggie Ping list is for FReepers who would like to be notified of threads relating to all things canid. If you would like to join the Doggie Ping Pack (or be unleashed from it), FReemail me.

[dainbramaged]

A little off topic but there is some great razor clam digging near there.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

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[Ken H]

Love them labs.

[Rio]

You any good at razor clams? i never could get the hang of finding them. Shovel handle... nothing .. Clam gun... nothing. This was Clam Beach, Humboldt County, CA.

[Jeff Chandler]

Love them labs.

Indeed.

[Romans Nine]

Real nice story. Thanks for posting.

[Salamander]

That hit me right square in the feels.

Thanks for sharing.

:)

[dainbramaged]

A lot of coastal campouts in Washington when we were kids, always with the low tides. My brother and I would race each other to get our limits which was 18 at the time, IIRC.
My cousin brought some fresh to our July 4th picnic last week - super sweet and deep fried.

[AnAmericanMother]

It's not a "Golden Lab". Golden Retrievers are a separate (though related) breed. It's a Yellow Lab. Labs come in 3 colors: Black, Chocolate, and YELLOW.

Drives me nuts - like my Yellow's vet record referring to her as "blonde". (blonde in the front office.)

[AnAmericanMother]

I'll add that a Lab is about the most versatile trainable dog there is. My 14 year old Chocolate gal is cross-trained in retrieving, agility, obedience, and K9 Nosework. Has a vocabulary of about 200 words.

You can hand her something and tell her "take it to . . . " even when that person is out of sight. She delivers all birthday cards in the family. They sometimes arrive a little soggy, but . . .

[afraidfortherepublic]

What a lovely and heartwarming story.