Dog Names Ending in ha

It is often difficult to garner information about the wild populations of certain animals and many techniques are used to do so; sometimes animals are trapped in order to fit them with tracking collars and have DNA samples taken before releasing them back into the wild, and sometimes it’s more enlightening study their scat. Unfortunately, the DNA in old dry scat is useless and the hormones have often dissipated making it important to find and positively identify the scat while it is still somewhat fresh for it to have any research value, so researchers and conservationists have been employing scat hunting dogs to find specific types of scat to help in conservation efforts. One such canine conservation dog is a mixed breed dog by the name of Mocha who has a powerful drive to search for the stuff, motivated by an intense toy drive. She was trained to locate the scat of Fishers, a job which she performed in return for the chance to chase her ball through the forest. 

Mocha worked for the Kings River Fisher Project, a project designed to protect the small native population of Fishers, a three to four-foot long carnivorous animal native to the forests of North America. These mammals used to roam freely throughout the forests but were trapped and killed for their pelts since the eighteenth century, causing a steep decline in their population. Trained by the Center for Conservation Biology, the most successful dogs in the scat program are typically ones that have been released to the humane shelter as they were too hyper-focused to make good family companions. 

Mocha started training with the Center in 2005 after she had been rejected as a police dog, and she and her handler Lindsay Madden were one of the first canine-handler teams to begin work on the California Fisher project in 2006. Her drive to find scat was so strong that she was known to howl in her crate when the other conservation dogs, Ruger, Lily, and Dallas, were taking their turns working. She continued obsessively searching out Fisher scat until 2008, greatly aiding conservation efforts for this dwindling species, then retired to live at the home that Lindsey shares with her husband Jacob, where she was given a spot in front of the fireplace and as many toys as she could handle. Her handler, Lindsey, inspired by her bond with Mocha, went on to research the benefits of human and animal interactions between shelter dogs and troubled youth.