Sable the Sewage Dog, Still Sniffing

Sable training with Scott Reynolds

Last October, I wrote about Sable, a German Shepherd mix in Michigan who can detect pollutants in water.

The New York Times reports that Sable is still at it, and his fame is spreading. Communities in New England want to fly him in to test their water.

It might cost $10,000 for Sable and his trainer, versus $100,000 for rounds of expensive and time-consuming tests. Sable is not only highly accurate, he’s much faster than standard tests.

Sable has been so successful that his trainer, Scott Reynolds, has started his own company, Environmental Canine Services LLC. He’s training two more dogs, and in addition to Sable’s detection services, he also offers to train other agencies’ dogs. He hopes that these specialized scent-sniffing services can be made affordable for small communities and nonprofit organizations.

In my original post, I speculated that Sable probably enjoys his job, smelling things that most humans find disgusting. Reynolds says yes, that’s right. “He loves it! Every day, when I get ready for work, he runs and jumps on the counter, looking at his harness and hoping that he gets to work that day.”