“[The bears’] experiences for the most part around people have been positive,” Lackey said. “We’re just trying to give them a bad experience around people.”

The dogs also assist in hazing other wildlife such as mountain lions and deer, wriggle beneath houses with Lackey and Carniello to remove bears in crawl spaces and serve as ambassadors for NDOW and the biologists as they work to educate people about how to make their properties less attractive to bears.

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Conservation efforts and habitat restoration regeneration worked, and in the 1990s, Nevada’s bear population exploded. Nevada’s bear population now hovers between 600 and 700 across western Nevada, from far northern Washoe County down to the state line around Topaz and east to near Walker Lake.

Lackey and Carniello, along with Badger and Banjo, respond to dozens of bear-related incidents across Northern Nevada each year when bears exhibit unusual behavior or are somewhere they shouldn’t be, such as inside a house. Most of the bears are captured and released back into the wild, near where they were picked up, with Badger and Banjo’s help. 

“They really add a level of comfort and safety for us when we’re in some of these close situations,” Carniello said. “This can be a really challenging job … and it’s really cool to have someone with you who adores you.”

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