Poachers beward: K-9 cops!

The Pa. Game Commission has two new recruits to help its field officers crack down on poachers and other criminals. Their names are Onyx and Sarge, a couple of "canine cops."

Wildlife Conservation Officer Linda Swank of Lancaster County, who has been Onyx's handler and trainer since the program began in 2001, was recently called with her super sleuth to probe suspicious activity reported by a bowhunter.

Onyx, a female black Labrador retriever, identified a trail and led officers to the entrails of a freshly killed deer, as well as a spent .243 caliber rifle cartridge. Confronted with the evidence, the suspect confessed and will face a heavy fine.

Meanwhile, a York County resident and two men from Maryland pleaded guilty to a variety of criminal wildlife charges after Onyx sniffed out their crimes.

Game officers heard shots and the sounds of an ATV, then spotted the three men with loaded firearms on the ATV.

The officers found nine baited tree stands in the woods directly behind the house in question. Onyx picked up the scent and found the illegally killed deer in five minutes.

WCO Darin Clark, of Erie County, and Sarge, a yellow Labrador, comprise the second Game Commission canine unit.

"The teams began training when the dogs were about five months old," Officer Swank said. "The dogs are trained specifically for tracking, evidence recovery and detection of wildlife, similar to narcotics and explosive detection canines."

"Both dogs have been instrumental in solving many cases," said Rich Palmer, Game Commission's acting director of wildlife protection. "Without their evidence collection capabilities, many of these cases would have been far more difficult and costly, if not impossible, to solve."