Trouble Dog: From Shelter Dog to Conservation Hero
“Tucker was the dog that no one wanted until Laura came along, and gave him a home, a purpose, and the opportunity to be a hero.”
Trouble Dog: From Shelter Dog to Conservation Hero
A thrilling story of a dog who found the perfect job and a loving home, based on the real heroes of Working Dogs for Conservation.
Tucker the dog never means to be trouble: he just loves to play. But at the animal shelter, every visitor says he’s too much trouble—until Laura. Laura thinks Tucker might be just right for a very special job. Could all his energy make him an amazing conservation dog? Laura trains Tucker to track down Gila monsters, endangered flowers, even grizzly bear poop. His first assignment is in Hawaii, searching for invasive rosy wolf snails hidden under leaves. Where will his nose lead him next?
Based on the lives of two real conservation dogs, this tail-wagging adventure invites children to join scientists—and their canine colleagues—in their work to save wildlife around the world. Readers will cheer for Tucker’s inspiring journey from shelter dog to eager trainee to confident globetrotter. The story concludes with photos and further information about the real dogs and trainers of Working Dogs for Conservation, the world’s largest and oldest conservation dog organization.
Written by Carol Foote
Illustrated by Larry Day
Published by Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
For ages 5 – 9 years
Carol and Pepin
Wicket
The Real Trouble Dogs
I saw my first conservation dog, Pepin, at a Wildlife Conservation Network expo in San Francisco. Pepin wowed everyone in the crowd, demonstrating his talents by using his powerful sniffer to find objects hidden by his handler. Each time he succeeded, everyone clapped and cheered. I was impressed by his ability and also touched to learn during the presentation that dogs that make great conservation canines are often so energetic and rambunctious that they don’t fit into family life. They are frequently abandoned at shelters and marked as TROUBLE.
Fortunately, conservationists have learned that such intense, exuberant dogs are often perfect for conservation work, and organizations such as Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C) search shelters for such dogs, sometimes rescuing pups that had been abandoned for months and giving them homes and purpose. When I thought about these rejected dogs getting a second chance, I knew that was a story I wanted to write.
Pepin’s handler, Megan Parker, and Pete Coppolillo, Executive Director of WD4C, liked my idea of a fictional children’s book based on Pepin and agreed to help. Over time, the story expanded to include the life and experiences of another conservation dog, Wicket. In between far-flung adventures with their dogs, Megan and Aimee Hurt, Wicket’s handler, showed an endless amount of patience, answering my many questions about the dogs, their training, their exploits around the world, and WD4C.
I love that this story gave me a chance to spread the word about something positive and successful in the field of wildlife preservation. But from the first, I realized that it was about more than dogs and conservation. The idea of a smart, energetic dog being rejected but finding its place in the world is a heartening story for us all. I like to think everyone has the potential to do amazing things, provided the chance, and I hope this book gives that message to readers.
Working Dogs for Conservation
Working Dogs For Conservation (WD4C) has developed an online tool to help shelters identify dogs with the potential to become great conservation dogs. Given attention and training, these dogs have happy, fulfilling lives as conservation dogs, traveling the world to help save wildlife.