Puddles the mussel-sniffing dog is now on the job

Sometimes public servants come in cute, furry packages.

On Tuesday morning, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Washington Invasive Species Council introduced the state’s newest mussel-sniffing dog, Puddles, who showed off her skills at Thurston County’s Black Lake.

Puddles uses her keen sense of smell to help detect quagga and zebra mussel larvae on boats traveling through mandatory watercraft-inspection stations run by WDFW.

Quagga and zebra mussels can clog piping and mechanical systems of industrial plants, utilities, locks and dams. Researchers estimate that the invasive species could cost $137 billion annually in damages to crops, forests, fish and other wildlife nationally.