“Doomis,” a Labrador agriculture inspector, received official commendation from the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday morning for his long and successful career. In a final demonstration for the board, Doomis quickly sniffed out suspicious packages, alerting his handler, Christine Tyler, with paw scratches. Doomis has signaled an alert on 43,000 agricultural parcels with an accuracy rate of more than 94 percent, intercepting 550 pests.
“We are very grateful that you are honoring the work Doomis and Christine have done over the years to protect not only Santa Barbara’s agriculture and natural environment, but the state of California as well.” said Jose Chang, Santa Barbara Agricultural Commissioner.
Doomis, who began life as a stray in Georgia, had the good luck to be chosen by the United States Department of Agriculture to enter their national training center, where he stayed for an intensive weeks-long program. Tyler, an agricultural biologist, fondly remembers when she first met Doomis at the facility: “Once I got partnered with Doomis, everything changed. I knew he was my dog.”
