Some of the best workers in America don't get paid. But these employees aren't quitting or even complaining. In fact they seem happy to work like, well, dogs.

That, of course, is what they are. Professional pooches do a variety of jobs. Dogs serve as "eyes" for the blind and "ears" for the deaf. And they bring joy to nursing home residents.

Dogs do many other jobs too. They pull sleds, find crime clues, inspect luggage for illegal drugs or food items, hunt for missing persons, and much more. One lucky dog is even a vice president for a big company!

With the right training, dogs make great employees. They're smart, skilled, and loving. They're also doggone dependable.

Imagine if you couldn't turn on a light or open the refrigerator. Life might be pretty frustrating. You'd have to depend on other people all the time. Or would you?

Some people with physical disabilities rely on specially trained "service dogs." By helping with daily activities, the animals give their owners a welcome sense of independence.

The best known service dogs are guides for the visually impaired. But four-legged friends perform other roles too. One group—Canine Companions for Independence—trains dogs to open and close doors, switch lights on and off, pick up dropped objects, and even pull wheelchairs.

Canine companions are helping "hands" for many people. Service dogs can also provide helping hearts. That’s what happened for a girl named Megan.

Megan is seven. She has a medical condition called Angelman syndrome. As a result, she can't speak or walk.

People sometimes felt uncomfortable around Megan and her family. No one knew what to say or how to act. Megan's life got pretty lonely. Her mother explains, "It can be isolating to have a disability."

Things changed when Gabri came along. The two-year-old Labrador retriever became Megan's furry friend. "Gabri is the perfect icebreaker," says her mother. "People who didn't know what to say before come right up and ask about Megan's dog."

With help, Megan feeds, brushes, and takes care of Gabri. "If this dog makes Megan's life a tiny bit more fun," her mom says, "it's worth it."

Some canine careers are all about being nose-y. A dog's nose has 20 times more sniffing cells than a human's. Dogs may learn to smell bombs, drugs, money, or even bananas.

Yes, bananas. Fruits, vegetables, meat, and other food items sometimes carry insects and diseases. Food from foreign countries could infect crops or animals in the U.S. To prevent that, the U.S. Department of Agriculture created the Beagle Brigade. Furry, four-legged baggage inspectors sniff purses and bags at international airports. The beagle calmly sits down next to anything that smells suspicious. The hound's human partner then checks for illegal items.

Why beagles? They're friendly and cute. So they don't scare people as they sniff through the crowds. More important, beagles have an amazing nose for food. They sense odors so faint that high-tech equipment can't measure them.

By the end of its six-to-ten-year career, a Beagle Brigade member can remember up to 50 different odors. Sometimes harmless products, such as lemon-scented shaving cream, fool the dogs. But not often. The Beagle Brigade sniffs out the truth 84 percent of the time.

Dogs also use their mighty noses to find people—alive or dead. With those powerful snouts, dogs can smell tiny clues that people leave behind wherever they go. These include dead skin cells, bacteria, clothing fragments, and hairs. Their odors can lead a dog to a hidden person, known as a "find."

Search-and-rescue (SAR) dogs have tracked missing hikers in Yosemite Park. And they've searched through piles of rubble after earthquakes and other disasters. SAR dogs aided rescue workers in New York City after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Animals hunted for survivors buried under concrete, steel, and other debris.

German shepherds, Labrador retrievers, and Border collies, make good SAR dogs. But so do many other breeds, or types. The dog's personality is more important than its breed.

SAR dogs must be strong, obedient, athletic, and smart. Most of all, they must love to play. Trainers look for dogs that go bonkers over a favorite toy, such a tennis ball. Those dogs will tackle any job as long as the reward is playtime when they're done.

For SAR dogs, a mission may just be a big game of hide-and-seek. But to people, the "game" is a matter of life and death. That’s why SAR dogs are irreplaceable. No machine—not even a robot or motion detector—can match the performance of a canine detective.

SAR dogs have serious jobs—even if they don't realize it. Other dogs "work" at having fun. They fetch, hunt, or just look cute. Check out these professional pooches!

Bosco's owner runs a bowling alley in Homosassa Springs, Florida. Now and then, pins get knocked into the gutter. The lane’s automated rake can't reach them. So Bosco races to the rescue. He sprints down the gutter and retrieves the pin. You might say he gives a new meaning to "dog bowl."

Eagle loves bones. Old bones, to be precise. A mix of Doberman pinscher and German short-haired pointer, Eagle has a knack for locating the remains of people who died hundreds of years ago.

Does this odd habit bother Eagle's owner? No. He's an archaeologist, someone who studies the past. He brings Eagle along on digs. The dog has helped find a slave cemetery in Mississippi and Native American burial sites in Michigan.

Then there's Kersee. Her canine career may be the best of all. She’s the Vice President of Canine Communications at Iams, a pet food company.

Kersee, a golden retriever, represents the company at charity events. She welcomes visitors to Iams headquarters in Dayton, Ohio. And she doesn't hesitate to sample the company's products.

No matter what the job, countless dogs do great work. What do they get in return? Probably not cash.

But a working dog's "salary" includes some valuable things: love, food, shelter, and good care. Dogs have become so dependent on people, in fact, that they couldn't live without us. And for millions of dog lovers, the feeling is mutual.

Text by Terrell Smith
This article appears on pages 18-23 of our January-February 2003 issue.

Glossary Words: archaeologist | breed | disability | visually impaired |

LINKS

National Geographic Game: Working Dogs
Spend a day at the "office" answering questions about hard-working pooches.

Dogs With Jobs
Find more great dog stories, facts, and trivia.

Canine Companions
This organization provides trained assistance dogs to people with disabilities.

Loving Paws Assistance Dogs
These dogs are trained to help disabled children. The site has some great photos.

Beagle Brigade
You might say these dogs are nosy. But they sure are good at their jobs.