A six-year-old Labrador named Sgiath is helping protect the ocean in the UK. She uses her nose to search for a strange, slimy sea animal. The animal is hard for people to see. But the dog has already found hundreds of groups of them under wet seaweed on the beach.
The animal is called the carpet sea squirt. Marine experts believe it came from Japan and arrived in the UK in 2008. It can be orange or cream. During warm summer months, it grows very fast. Because sea waters are getting warmer, experts worry it could spread even more.
This sea creature causes big problems for local nature. It takes food away from native animals. It also clogs boat propellers and equipment at fish farms. Across Europe, cleaning up these harmful invaders costs millions of pounds every year.
People often use dogs to track wild animals on land. But using a dog in the sea environment is new. Sgiath's handler, Sim, was not sure the idea would work at first. Now, Sgiath easily dives under the seaweed at low tide to point out where the invaders hide.