Huck (@huck_the_bed_bug_dog), a cocker spaniel for Mason, N.C.-based regional firm <a href="http://www.ridapest.com/" target="_blank">Rid-A-Pest</a>, rides in his own special “Canine Scent Detection” vehicle with handler Chris Cozart.<br/>Photo: Rid-A-Pest
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National Take Your Dog to Work Day is June 24, and National Camera Day is June 29. We celebrate both holidays this month by rounding up a collection of industry canines on the job — specifically, sniffing out bed bugs. (It is our bed bug issue, after all.)
In our research, we learned that many of the industry’s four-legged employees have their own Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram accounts. We’ve included their handles after their names in each caption. Customers seem to really respond to these trained and certified animals, perhaps because there’s nothing more on the canine’s agenda than to please the handler by working hard and getting a reward at the end of the inspection. Are bed bug dogs infallible? Nope. Are they accurate enough to warrant using? Many say yes.
If you want your working-class dog to be part of a follow-up post on our blog, PMPPestTalk.net, send a photo to pmpeditor@northcoastmedia.net. It doesn’t matter whether the pup is trained in bed bugs, termites, or is just a brand ambassador — snap a pic so we can get our paws on it.
Kinsey (@Smarter_K9) is a member of the Canine Bed Bug Division at Gregory Pest Solutions, a regional firm based in Greenville, S.C. Like any good professional, the Jack Russell terrier-Chihuahua rescue is wearing a uniform — a “Gregory Green” collar featuring the logo embroidered on brown leather. It was created by local firm Ally Jay Pets; at press time, custom shirts were also in the works. Photo: Gregory Pest Solutions
Huck (@huck_the_bed_bug_dog), a cocker spaniel for Mason, N.C.-based regional firm Rid-A-Pest, rides in his own special “Canine Scent Detection” vehicle with handler Chris Cozart. Photo: Rid-A-Pest
Toby (@Toby-The-Bed-Bug-Dog-Inspector), left, conducts an informal inspection of co-worker Baby. The beagle mix rescue, who’s been on the job since 2009, is the original bed bug dog for Santa Clarita, Calif.-based Round the Clock Pest Control. His handler, firm owner and founder Robert Gallo, is a board member of the National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association (NESDCA) and organizes West Coast certification workshops regularly. Photo: Round the Clock Pest Control
Allie (@k9alliejpmchale) is one of the certified bed bug dogs working for regional firm JP McHale Pest Management. Here, the American cocker spaniel mix “bones up” on training between inspections in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut service regions. Photo: JP McHale Pest Management
No taxidermied bear is too fearsome for Bonnie (@ladykillerspestcontrol), a rat terrier-Chihuahua rescue who is on an inspection on behalf of Lady Killers Pest Control, Munising, Mich. The company’s co-owners, Victoria Gariepy and Angela Gerou, are hotel owners turned pest management professionals. Not pictured: Bonnie’s partner Clyde, who is also a certified bed bug canine. Photo: Lady Killers Pest Control
Jimmy (@greendogpest), a Belgian Malinois rescue, gets a better sniff of a mattress for his handler, Deanna Kjorlien, owner of Green Dog Pest Service. The Hemet, Calif.-based company specializes in bed bug inspections for pest management professionals in California, Washington and Oregon. Photo: Green Dog Pest Service
