PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon State Police has a new partner working to sniff out crime in the form of a 3-year-old Labrador.
Trooper Josh Wolcott and his buddy Buck are partners in solving crime, but Buck is not your typical K-9 unit. This pup has a unique job helping out in the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“He’s helped me find poached elk, he’s helped me find bullet casings, he’s helped me track people,” said Wolcott. “Like our drug dogs detect heroin, he’ll detect wildlife species.
He’s a conservation K-9 — fighting for Oregon’s wildlife. Buck is thoroughly trained in tracking, detection and area search work. Ultimately, he’s helping Wolcott catch poachers.
Oregon is vast in nature — when troops respond to wildlife crimes, these 2 may be the only ones on the scene.
“Having Buck allows us to solve some of those crimes that we may not be able to solve otherwise,” he said.
But, these skills don’t come easy. Getting Buck to this point took 5 months of training in Indiana. They also do 8 hours of maintenance per week to keep themselves up to snuff.
“That process was very strenuous for the both of us, but we both learned together,” said Wolcott.
Even with the amount of time put into it, this resource is priceless as Buck saves wildlife one poacher at a time.
