Two summers ago I worked on a Black Oystercatcher project where we went to oiled and unoiled islands in Prince William Sound to see if the birds were still being affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Imagine my utter joy when I showed up after a long trip from Whittier to a boat in the middle of Prince William Sound to find there was a DOG onboard! This is Nascar, the only dog working for the US Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. Well, not exactly working, but his owners both do so Nascar has special permission to come along.
Here he is on deck checking out an Orca, modeling his warm fleece suit and warming up down below.