Officials deploy remarkable dog to fight back against emerging threat to crucial waterways: 'It's a big game to him'

Officials deploy remarkable dog to fight back against emerging threat to crucial waterways: 'It's a big game to him'

Minnesota conservation officer Annette Schlag came up with a masterful way to outwit the overwhelming zebra mussel population with the help of 1.5-year-old Trapper, a skillful yellow Labrador retriever. Trained for three months by Schlag, the dog sniffs out zebra mussels when prompted with the word "seek," helping conservationists remove the aquatic animals from the ecosystems they have invaded. Zebra mussels, native to the Caspian and Black sea…