JOSHUA TREE, Calif. — Rescue dogs Merlin and Siska are readying for an important mission out in the Mojave Desert: to find animal poop.
As the fall brings cooler temperatures, the pups will trot among the Joshua trees wearing orange vests, “doggles” to shield their eyes from the sun and booties to protect them from the prickly cholla cacti. As wildlife biologist Christina Aiello searches for droppings of bighorn sheep, which are relatively abundant, the dog duo from Rogue Detection Teams will sniff out harder-to-find bobcat and mountain lion scat…