Mussel-sniffing canines are helping officials at Lopez Lake inspect vessels for invasive aquatic species — specifically, quagga or zebra mussels.
Finn is one of 14 dogs with the important job.
“Basically, all the dog is doing is playing this huge game of hide and seek. We've told them, hey, your toy smells like mussels. So all he's doing is he's sniffing the boat, going around, and he's looking for his toy," said Debbi Deshon, Mussel Dogs lead trainer.
Finn’s job is a key part of protecting lakes and reservoirs across California from invasive mussels trying to hitch a ride on a boat.
“On a daily basis here at Lopez Lake, rangers and staff conduct mandatory vessel inspections, so we look for clean, drained, and dry vessels," said park ranger Cristina Arevalo.
Having “mussel dogs” sniff around boats and alert handlers to the presence of mussels can dramatically decrease the time it takes to inspect boats.
“In addition to the visual inspection, the canine unit can detect larvae in the water that may be pooling in the vessels, and for us, it does have to be clean, drained, and dry, but if we find standing pooling water, we can't test it out on site," Arevalo explained.
“They [dogs] could smell mussels in places that we can't see, right? So if it's inside a pipe or it's somewhere where we'd never be able to see it in the first place, the dog's going to smell that," Deshon added.
In California, the risk is high for these invasive mussels.
“At Lopez Lake, we're actually at a very high risk of getting infected because of the calcium-rich bed that we have. If mussels did get in and how they multiply pretty quickly, it would definitely be detrimental to the ecosystem in the lake," Arevalo said.
The first detection of these invasive mussels in California was back in 2008.
According to Arevalo, most of the infected lakes are in Southern California.
"If the quagga and zebra mussels did get into the lake for us, we can't poison the lake because it is a water supply for the community. If it does get infected, we would actually have to shut down the whole lake," Arevalo explained.
San Luis Obispo County officials want to remind boaters to clean, drain, and dry all boats and equipment before visiting local lakes.
The dogs will also be conducting inspections on July 4.
If a boat has been on an infected lake within 30 days, it is not allowed on Lopez Lake.
A full list of infected lakes can be found on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website.
