WTOP (Washington, DC) 06 October 07 Retired Teacher Uses Dogs to Protect Turtles (Kate Ryan)
Derwood, Md.: Just ask John Rucker about what he does since retiring from teaching high school English.
"I am a turtle tracker by hobby," said Rucker. "My last year of teaching was 2003."
Ever since then, John Rucker of Tennessee, has been tracking turtles with his dogs Buster, Sparky and Greta. While Rucker says it's his hobby, he is being paid by the Maryland State Highway Administration to round up as many eastern box turtles as he can find along the route of the Intercounty Connector.
Rucker won't say just how much he's being paid by the state, but Rob Shreve, Environmental Manager for the ICC says the project is costing tens of thousands of dollars. It's clear though that officials feel it's worth it. Susan Hagood, with the Humane Society of the United States, agrees. She's also helping out with her turtle tracking dog Drew.
Hagood says when you look at a turtle, you're looking at a creature that preceded the dinosaurs, and so far, has managed to survive humans. She also says you don't even need to be a Terps fan to find them appealing.
"They're really cute, and amiable too. I've handled hundreds of them and I've only been bitten once, and I gave 'em reason to bite me."
Hagood is among those who has the technology to track the turtles. She and Rucker put their dogs through their paces in a field in Derwood and demonstrated how the tracking equipment would work. The turtles have the transponders, about the size of a bottle cap, epoxied to their shells. Then, when they are released, they can be tracked if they get too close to the danger zone.
Construction on the ICC, the transportation project that will link Prince George's and Montgomery Counties, is set to begin this fall. Shreve, the Environmental Manager of the ICC, explains that there are conflicting theories about the value of rounding up the turtles. Some studies say it's beneficial, others say it's not. Shreve says the information that will be gathered will help make that determination for future development.
So for now, it's Rucker's job to find the turtles. Rucker's dogs, Boykin Spaniels, are very good at what they do. They found 46 turtles on their very first day of hunting. Buster's the one who started it all, but at age nine, he's slowing down. Sparky's in his prime, and Greta's the baby of the bunch at just one and a half-years-old. But Rucker says she's got talent.
"Sparky found 15 and Buster found ten. Greta found the balance. I'm so pleased with her. I've only had her like, four months and she's already a producing turtle dog. "
How did it all start? Rucker says he happened to be hiking when he spotted a turtle dining on mushrooms. "and I just said Buster, what's that? And all he did was he went over and he sniffed the turtle and we continued our hike. And honestly, that's the only encouragement I gave him. Five minutes further down the trail, he comes trotting up with a turtle in his mouth. Just totally on his own."
It happened again, with Buster digging up yet another turtle.
"On that day, this sport was born for me. Just -- it was a gift from Buster who just found that turtle."
What's the payoff for the dogs?
"Praise. I don't give them doggie biscuits or anything because I then they'll start hunting with the doggie biscuit in mind."
Rucker says he's impressed that the state of Maryland is making the effort to keep the turtles safe. "Because in other parts of the country, once they get that contract, they just bring the bulldozers in and anything that gets in the way? That's just too bad."
Retired Teacher Uses Dogs to Protect Turtles

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