I read recently that detection dogs in Lassen Park picked up the scent of the endangered red fox. They detected about 85 scat that are being tested genetically at UC Davis. This is good news for the rarest animal in all of North America. There is estimated to only be about 18-35 Sierra Nevada Red Fox in existence. Cameras captured actual video of the fox but this has yet to be confirmed. The Detection Dog Team will be in action next summer, too.

We’ve all heard stories about detection dogs sniffing out drugs, explosives, cadavers and disaster survivors. In the mid 90’s, handlers started training them for conservation tasks such as sniffing out scat from endangered animal species and detecting trafficked ivory. Now their olfactory prowess is being used in the fight against invasive plants and insects. The list of how man’s best friend is helping us just keeps getting longer.

What makes a good detection dog? My friend, Cindy can tell you. She got Koni, a lab, through a good samaritan who had rescued him as a puppy from a homeless person living in her car. Koni wasn’t abused, just skinny. He has turned out to be a sweet, affectional, eager-to-please, ball-obsessed dog and those are the qualities that would make him a good detection dog. He lives for praise.

Although I come across more French broom than Scotch in our area detection dogs can be trained to sniff out all invasive broom. They’re doing this in New York where Scotch broom is just starting to invade and land managers hope to eradicate it before it becomes widespread like it is here and all along the Pacific Northwest. Broom displaces native plants with thickets impenetrable to wildlife and changes the chemistry of the soil around it so that native plants can’t grow there. Broom grows quickly as it is able to fix nitrogen from the air giving a competitive advantage to other non-native weeds. It poses a serious threat to birds, butterflies and biodiversity. Broom contains a high amount of oil, which is flammable and increases the fire hazard. It’s also toxic to livestock and dogs depending on the amount ingested. And those are just some of the reasons why New York wants to keep broom away.

“Our field in the last 15 years has just exploded.” said Pete Coppolillo, executive director of the nonprofit Working Dogs for Conservation in Bozeman, Montana. The organization partners with government agencies, researchers and nonprofits on five continents to provide trained dogs and handlers for conservation projects. Besides helping to detect New York broom they have provided trained dogs to find invasive knapweed in Montana, Chinese bush clover in Iowa, yellow thistle in Colorado as well as invasive zebra and quagga mussels on boats here in California.

Working Dogs for Conservation trains shelter dogs for detection work, screening 1000 dogs for every one they put to work. To make the cut, the dogs have to be not only good sniffers and high-energy, but also seriously obsessed with toys so they’ll stay motivated to work for a reward – the chance to play with a ball.

Because I eat a lot of oranges and lemons I looked up recent papers to see if dogs were still being used to detect citrus greening disease. Sure enough what started 5 years ago with just a few dogs has increased dramatically and many dogs are now being trained. Tim Gottwald, a U.S. Dept. of Agriculture plant pathologist, said during a recent presentation in Riverside that dogs in Florida have been 99% accurate and in tests and just of couple years ago in Southern California backyards, they were more than 92% accurate even when distracted by the homeowners. Because dogs can actually smell the bacteria that causes greening disease within a few weeks after infection well before lab tests can confirm, their work is vitally important.

So when you’re petting “man’s best friend” tonight appreciate all the great things he does for you and for our planet.

We’ve been told this all our lives but today’s lesson came from a reader in Scotts Valley who shared a harrowing experience she and her husband had when removing the tall, massive flower spike of their century plant (Agave americana) The birds must have planted it many years ago cause they sure didn’t. But now the plant was massive with a flowering spike loved by the bees. iI was time for it to go. So they donned gardening clothes and got out the implements of destruction. That’s when it all went terribly wrong and they ended up in Urgent Care.

Several months ago I was seeing posts all over the internet of proud owners with their once-in-8-to-30-year century plant 15 foot blooming spikes. After blooming the spike dies and pups grow at the base of the plant to continue the life cycle. The thorns on the tips hurt more than you would expect because of their toxic agents. Calcium oxalate crystals and saponins which can cause swelling, blisters and other symptoms upon contact or ingestion. The poor folks who ended up in Urgent Care are still on steroids and miserable. Besides being careful around the thorns of this plants be sure to have some rubbing alcohol on hand to immediately neutralize the toxin.

What other common plants should you watch out for?

Small pets can also be at risk if they ingest parts of poisonous plants out in the yard. Know what plants you have and keep a list. Oleander and foxglove are notorious deadly plants. Here are just some others you might not know.

Hydrangea leaves, flowers and branches contain cyanide. Lantana foliage and especially their unripe berries also contain dangerous toxins while delphinium leaves and seeds contain toxic alkaloids which decrease as the plant ages. Sweet peas, lobelia, impatiens, carnations, calla lily, mums and bleeding hearts also have plant parts with come degree of negative effect if ingested.

Surprisingly, even some vegetables contain natural toxins. Diseased celery and green potatoes as well as potato leaves and sprouts produce a very strong toxin. Raw, green, young asparagus shoots can cause dermatitis and the red berries that form on their feathery branches are poisonous. Large quantities of tomato leaves and stems contain alkaloid poisons. Livestock have died from eating the foliage. I guess the deer that browse your tomato vines aren’t ingesting enough to cause them harm as they seem to know just when you have another set of buds for them to nibble.

Trees are not the most common cause of accidental poisonings around the home but a few species may present a hazard.

The black seed inside apples contain cyanide although you have to eat large quantities for them to be deadly. Peach kernels, bark and twigs contain cyanide also as do apricot, cherry and plum pits.

Many of us are including native plants in our landscapes to attract wildlife and save water and resources. Here are some common native plants that you should be aware of if you have small children. The following plants have toxic parts: Coffeeberry, California buckeye, sWestern azalea, Elderberry, California buttercup, Berberis, Prunus, California poppy, annual lupine.

You don’t have to eliminate plants around the home that have natural toxins. Humans have lived for centuries around gardens and orchards. Just be prepared by knowing what plants grow on your property.