Postal service enlists unlikely helpers to battle harmful threats hiding in mail: 'Little mental database'

Postal service enlists unlikely helpers to battle harmful threats hiding in mail: 'Little mental database'

In the U.S. Postal Service sorting facility in West Sacramento, California, thousands of packages move through every hour — most harmless, some not. Hidden among everyday deliveries can be illegal plants, fruit, and wildlife products capable of introducing invasive pests and diseases. But one unlikely star employee working to prevent it is Berty, a four-year-old black Labrador retriever with a nose trained to sniff out organic contraband, Abridg…