The ring-necked snake is docile and rarely bites but can release a foul-smelling musk when handled. (Photo by Christopher Raithel from ‘Reptiles of Rhode Island’)
For a short-snouted dog, Mags proved to be a competent sidekick when it comes to stalking Rhode Island’s native turtles.
So says the pit bull’s owner, retired state biologist Christopher Raithel, who observed Mags sniff out the tiniest baby turtles during his field research trips to ponds andswamps around the Ocean State.
“I didn’t even train him,” said Raithel, who was the staff zoologist for the Rhode Island Heritage Program , and later, the nongame and endangered species biologist at the Department of Environmental Management before retiring in 2018.
“He just used to go with me, and he found a couple, and all you have to do is praise him and that’s pretty much it. He would find the ones that I could never see, because they were under the cover, so having him there was worth more than several other observers.”
Thanks to Mags’ dependable scent work, Raithel was successful in documenting every one of Rhode Island’s seven native turtles in his field guide “Reptiles of Rhode Island,” published last spring. But tracking all 13 of the state’s native snakes took more effort.