Argos is Pest Free Onetahua’s new four-legged team member. A collie–vizsla cross, he’s still learning the ropes but has already proven himself a natural. Since joining the team, he’s dispatched more than 150 possums out on Onetahua/Farewell Spit.
Argos lives with Corey Mosen, project lead for Pest Free Onetahua, Corey’s wife Sarah (also a conservation pro), and their four kids in Motupipi. Together, they make up a busy household where conservation is a way of life.
Argos isn’t Corey’s first working dog. Some of you may have heard of Ajax, the kea dog. Ajax and Corey spent years navigating the remote high country of the South Island, searching for kea nests so they could be monitored and protected. Their adventures included helicopter rides, snowstorms, run-ins with wasps, and plenty of nights spent out in the cold.
Now Argos is following in Ajax’s paw prints – but carving out his own role as a conservation dog on Farewell Spit. With special permission from the Department of Conservation, he’s helping track down hard to find possums. Traps, bait stations and skilled people do a great job, but some possums are clever enough to slip through the cracks.
That’s where Argos comes in. With his incredible nose and endless energy, he can find possums that traps and people might miss. And although he’s young, Argos is already showing us that sometimes the best conservation tools are a great sense of smell, four paws and a wagging tail.
