Retired Dog Detector Tassie
and Dog Handler Jennifer
Sacramento County
In November 2010, Sacramento County dog Tassie, or Tass Master 2000 as her handler lovingly refers to her, retired. All dogs in the California Dog Team Program are required to retire by age nine. Miss Tassie reached that mark and has sailed into retirement.
Jennifer and Tassie began working together in April 2009. During the 18 months they operated together, Tassie alerted on over 10,000 packages (marked and unmarked) containing plant material and accurately identified unmarked parcels containing agricultural products at a staggering average of 95.25% of the time.
Among Tassie’s many alerts on packages containing plant material infested with actionable pests, her claim to California fame was her detection of an unmarked package from Texas found heavily infested with the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP). The ACP has been a pest high on the radar for the California citrus industry. Tassie’s alert on this package prevented the introduction of ACP into the Sacramento area.
Read: "A New Leash on Life"
Dog Handler Jennifer and Detector Dog Tassie with Secretary A.G. Kawamura in 2009
CA Dog Teams
CDFA TV
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Good Day Sacramento: Dozer - Food & Agriculture Detector Dog
Cody Stark meets "Dozer," a dog trained to protect California agriculture from plant pests and diseases by detecting undeclared plant material and insects in packages. (03:26)
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Detector Dogs Stop Plant Pests
Canine inspectors at shipping facilities and airport terminals from Sacramento to San Diego detect undeclared produce and plants in packages, to prevent the introduction of invasive plant pests into California. (02:46)