Conservation Dogs Collective

🐝👃 Finders Ernie & Betty White have official sniffed their way through the first week of bumble bee nest surveys!

Bumble bee nests are notoriously hard for humans to find (they’re often hidden underground in rodent burrow systems, under leaf litter, or tucked into grassy tussocks) — which is exactly where Ernie & Betty White come in handy.

A few fun facts to buzz about 🐝:
🔹 A single bumble bee colony can have anywhere from 50 to 500 bees, produced by a single queen bee.
🔹 Unlike honey bees, bumble bee colonies only last one season — every nest the dogs find is a brand-new one each year!
🔹 Bumble bees can fly in cooler, cloudier weather than most other bees, making them some of the first pollinators out in spring.
🔹 Some bumble bee species, like the rusty patched bumble bee, are federally endangered — so every nest located adds real data to their protection.

Huge thanks to our amazing field partners for getting this season underway with us and for the never ending support of our community and Patreon family!

🐾 SWEET # SEVEN 🎂

Happy 7th birthday to the fuzzy black pocket rocket, Betty White! Since arriving home as a wee little 8-week-old pup, Betty White has been working hard on being a best friend to conservation. During her career, she's been trained to located bumble bee nests, 2 different species of turtles, and the invasive New Zealand mudsnail. She's traveled across states for her work and shown of her sniffy and social skills at various educational events to promote the incredible assets detection dogs provide for conservation programs.

She's smart, she's sassy, and she's talkative, but takes her sniffing very seriously. She's spending her day doing exactly what she wants—scent work training, playing with the garden hose, getting special snacks, and curling up into the squishiest, cushiest spots in the house.

Drop a birthday wish for Betty White in the comments! And if you want to give Betty White a special treat for her birthday, consider joining her and her brother's Patreon family. Your support will keep her fueled this summer as we get out in the field sniffing out bumble bee nests. 👉 https://www.patreon.com/conservationdogscollective

Photo by Anne Readel.

🐾🐝 WANTED: BUMBLE BEE NEST SITES! 🐝🐾

It's officially bumble bee nest season, and Ernie & Betty White need your help! We are currently seeking active bumble bee nests to do some scent training with to prepare for the upcoming survey season.

🐝 If you have a wild, active bumble bee nest within a 45-minute commute of Milwaukee, WI please email me (Laura) with your information. Include the species of bumblebee if known (we can help with this), photos and/or videos, and any property information you are able to share. At the end of the season, once a nest is abandoned, we are also looking for nesting material to be used towards continued training of this amazing program.

🙌 Betty White and Ernie are in their 6th consecutive year of bumble bee nest surveys and are incredibly grateful for our amazing community of bumblebee partners, friends, and fans!

🤔 Have leads or questions? Drop them below or email me (Laura) at: [email protected].

Ernie’s functional behavior repertoire is quite something. During his conditioning appointment today, his therapist stepped out of the room for a moment to get him some water, and Ernie - on his own - put himself on the front and rear foot targets. What a smart boy!

🎉🦮 New Project Announcement🦮🎉

I’m so excited to announce another project partnership, involving a fuzzy face some of you may recognize - Finder Bronty! Bronty and his human, Heather, will be working alongside the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Northern Michigan University, and Keweenaw Bay Indian Community on their moose project starting this month. Their job will be to assist in searching for moose stillbirths and kill sites, and will be providing on-call services.

After years of hard work, I'm SO happy for Heather and Bronty to lend their talents on a conservation project in the U.P. Their talents will help better understand moose health and reproduction, movement, and mortality, and will help guide future conservation and management decisions.

Please join me in wishing them safe and successful sniffing and be sure to follow their field adventures!

A huge thank you to the Forest Preserve District of Will County, Illinois for helping us kick off our 2026 conservation detection season last week!

After an afternoon training session with some tagged turtles, Ernie & Betty White joined their team in the field to survey for ornate box turtles for a few days. The turtles were playing it coy (canine AND human searchers came up empty 😄) during our deployment, although the dogs did find a few areas of "stinky interest," that indicate the possibility of turtle presence. Regardless of the outcome, every data point collected matters and goes toward building a clearer picture for future monitoring of this species.

And the field had plenty of surprises to offer! We spotted several snakes (including a very cool hog-nosed snake), a wild turkey nest, and Ernie & Betty White flagged several potential early-season bumble bee nesting sites along the way, which meant they got to have a cheese party for a job well done!

So grateful for partners who care as deeply about this work as we do. Here's to a great season ahead! 🐢🐾

🐢 Turtle sniffing is underway and the dogs’ faces explain everything. They. Are. Very. Happy!!

🐢 Hey, ornate box turtles, there's a new nose in town! 🐾

Back in 2022, Conservation Dogs Collective teamed up with Polk County Conservation and Drake University for ornate box turtle surveys. This spring, we're doing it again, and we could not be more excited!

But this time, we're bringing some new energy to the field. We're SO thrilled to welcome Finder Onyx and Keeper Madison of Destination Canines to the extended Conservation Dogs Collective family! This dynamic duo is traveling all the way from California to join us for surveys this season — and trust us, you're going to want to follow along for what comes next.

Ornate box turtles are a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Iowa, and it takes a village — committed partners, sharp noses, and dedicated handlers — to do this work well. Stay tuned as Onyx and Madison get trained up and deployed!!

You're invited to our first ever Odor Bathing Retreat 🐾🌲

We're thrilled to introduce an incredible opportunity we've been working on for months: The Odor Bathing Retreat with Finders Ernie & Betty White taking place from July 17-31!

This exclusive 14-day immersive experience takes you deep into the northwoods of Wisconsin to truly slow down and connect with nature through scent — led by two dogs who have dedicated years to this very practice.

What's included:
- Guided odor awareness walks by Betty White who will show you where to put your nose.
- Sunrise scent meditation by Ernie who is more than happy to wake you up at 5am each day.
- Gourmet farm-to-trail snacks served al fresco.
- Your own personalized odor assessment from Ernie & Betty White themselves.
- Unlimited olfactory enrichment rain or shine.

Additional details and registration at:

Odor Bathing Retreat 2026 | Conservation Dogs Collective Join us for a 14-day immersive Odor Bathing Retreat with Finders Ernie & Betty White! Guided scent walks, woodland odor immersion, and two expert Finders who will absolutely not let you miss a single smell.

🐾 NINE YEARS OF ERNIE! 🎂

Happy 9th birthday to the dog who started it all — our O.G. Finder, the one and only Ernie.

Nine years of constant companionship. Nine years of putting his nose to the ground to learn more about invasive and threatened species. Nine years of stealing hearts in every field work deployment, classroom, and community we've had the privilege of serving.

Since that wiggly 10-week-old pup first arrived, Ernie has been trained on 8 different species, traveled across states for critical conservation work, and delivered more educational moments than we can count. But more than any of that — he's shown us what it means to truly love the work.

This dog has a gift, and he gives it every single day. 🐕💚

Drop a birthday wish for Ernie in the comments! He'll be spending today exactly as he deserves — special treats, all the belly rubs, some sniffing, and a lot of time carrying his food bowl around.

If you want to give Ernie something meaningful on his big day, consider joining his Patreon family. Your support keeps him doing the good work he was born to do — in the field and in the community. 👉 https://www.patreon.com/conservationdogscollective

Photo by Anne Readel.