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Meet The Dog Who Is Saving Our Bees

Updated: Feb 10, 2019

Klinker, an adorable canine resident of Maryland, has an important job. She is the only dog certified in the U.S. to sniff out a specific bacteria that is killing our bee populations.

For those unaware of the bee situation, here's a quick breakdown. Basically, bees are essential for maintaining global food supplies. In the U.S. honeybees pollinate plants that produce nearly a quarter of the food consumed and all their busy work is worth about $20 billion a year. But they're dying off at a rapid rate; we've lost nearly 40% of our bees since 2006.


Thankfully, Klinker rules at her job and is a pro at sniffing out a bacteria called American foulbrood, which is one of the most widespread and most destructive bacterias of the honeybee diseases. She can inspect up to 1,000 bee colonies a day, and has the ability to detect the disease early on, preventing mass destruction of bee colonies. Typically by the time the bacteria is discovered, it's considered too late and beekeepers burn the whole colony - talk about a buzz kill, amiright? But Klinker can detect it before things come to that, saving tons of bees and money.

Klinker is enjoying her well deserved, excellent job security since her sniffer is in such high demand. Check out the video below to see the pup, and her handler Bill Troup, hard at work.



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