These Animals Are Proudly Employed with Important Jobs

If only we could walk into the office everyday and see an adorable duck sitting at their at their desk, diligently working away. While this may never be the case, it doesn’t mean animals haven’t been assigned some jobs throughout times and cultures.

In 18^th and 19^th century Europe, goats were often used as wet nurses (breastfeeding) as alternatives to human wet nurses. This was because they were cheaper and more attainable for lower class people than actual humans.

Bill the Goat is the United States Naval Academy that first appeared in 1893 during an Army-Navy Game. The Navy won 6-3 and thus adopted the goat as part of their team. It grew into tradition and there has been now 36 “Bill the Goat” mascots for the Navy.

Keiko’s story is rather sad, but he did have a job, nonetheless. Keiko was captured in 1979 in Iceland when he was a young whale and held in inadequate conditions in a Mexico City aquarium where his tank was tap water and table salt. Eventually, he was rescued and rehabilitated at a facility in Oregon with the goal of releasing him back into the wild.

Avalanche dog’s jobs are to find people who have been buried in snow after an avalanche. They begin digging where they smell someone buried as a signal to the rescue patrol to begin the extrication process.

African giant pouched rats have been utilized in Cambodia for their bomb and landmine detecting snouts. There are hazardous unexploded weapons of war that dot the Cambodian countryside and are dangerous to civilians and have been left by militaries to slow enemy forces.

Border collies are natural work dogs with intrinsic herding instincts and intellect and are ideal for farm work. In January of 2017 Chile suffered their worst wildfire in the nation’s history. The fire destroyed over a million acres of land, destroying homes, and taking lives.

The United States Coast Guard deploys the use of pet-detective pooches within their missions as explosive detection dogs. The Coast Guard has 16 canine explosive detection teams, each with one working human and one working dog.

Sentry dogs are meant to heed warning to soldiers in the cover of darkness or if a threat may be coming from behind. Sentry dogs were also by the Coast Guard during World War Two as coastal protection against enemy submarine activity.

Scout or patrol dogs are trained to detect snipers, ambushes, and enemy forces. They are trained to work completely silently and are considered elite amongst the different classes of military dogs due to this and their superior intelligence.

Messenger dogs were utilized most during the first World War and was considered the most elite pooch servant along every front line. These canines must be extremely loyal and trusted as they are required to go from one handler to the other.

Casualty dogs are trained to search and report casualties in ambiguous locations or scout out injured soldiers who needs immediate attention, oftentimes carrying medical supplies on their bodies.

University of California, Davis, has implemented 25 roaming (and grazing) sheep as part of their newest experiment to see if they can rely on the sheep to keep their grass maintained in place of their usual maintenance crew.

A dog named Jubjib is lending his paws to a durian fruit farm in Thailand and helping to assist in harvesting the fruit. Durian is considered some of the smelliest fruit in the word, sometimes being compared to “pig excrement, turpentine, and onions, garnished with a gym sock.” Yikes.

The National Institute for Diabetic Alert Dogs and Diabetic Alert Dog University train dogs to spot the difference between certain scents and be able to tell when a person’s blood sugar is high or low. Because the animal is trained to recognize to a person’s blood chemistry, they can alert the person or the person’s caregiver to take action in the appropriate window of time before negative symptoms occur.

“Nanny donkeys” and mules are outfitted with saddles to assist in carrying newborn lambs up or down hills in the Italian Alps during the yearly move from higher pastures to lower pastures.

A dolphin named Pelorus Jack is an iconic guide-porpoise that helped aid ships through a stretch of the Cook Strait in New Zealand. He would join unite with the vessels at the entrance of the Pelorus Sound and swim alongside the boats, riding their wake.

Numerous communities have used ducks and geese to control pest and weed populations. The ducks and geese eat the weeds and pests as well as release excrements into the fields which greatly improves soil fertility and results in higher yields and decreased costs.

If you’ve coconut oil or meat in recent times, there’s a likely chance that it was imported from Thailand and fetched by a monkey. It is common in Thailand to raise and train pigtailed macaques to pick coconuts and has been a strategy for 400 years. A male monkey can collect 1,600 coconuts per day while a female can collect 600, while the average human can collect around 80.

Because mussels require well-oxygenated and clean water and low levels of chemical and physical impurities to prosper. They are incredibly sensitive to pollutants and because of this they are ideal for monitoring water supply in Poznań’s water supply.

In Kenya’s Samburu County, harsh climate conditions and half of the population living below the poverty line and without sufficient sanitation is problematic. In order to reach residents in this remote region, camel mobile clinics have been hailed as a sustainable solution.

Herding dogs, also known as stock dogs, shepherd dogs, sheepdogs, or working dogs, are a type of dog that has been trained to herd farm animals. Their general characteristics are that they are industrious, athletic, energetic, focused, loyal, and very intelligent.

It isn’t just humans that need some emotional support from human’s best friend, cheetahs enjoy their company too! Apparently, the giant cat experience anxiety and are instinctively shy. Due to this, it is difficult to get them to mate.

Since 1967, the Navy has been training sea lions and dolphins for military porpoises…purposes, such as mine clearing, recovery missions, and force protection. The United State Navy Marine Mammal Program deployed military dolphins during the Vietnam War and as recently as the 2003 invasion of Iraq

You may have heard the phrase “canary in the coal mine” once or twice before, did you ever wonder where it came from? John Scott Haldane came up with the idea in 1895 to place a warm-blooded animal in the coal mines to detect carbon monoxide.

When we think of service animals the animal that probably comes to mind is a well-trained dog, however according to the 2010 Americans with Disability Act , miniature horses can be individually trained to work and perform tasks for people with disabilities.

Capuchin monkeys are trained to help adults with mobility impairment. The “monkey helpers” as they are called help to retrieve dropped objects (such as a remote controller or phone), opening bottles, turning switches on and off, repositioning limbs, turning pages, or scratching itches.

The very distinguished title of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office goes to the official resident cat of the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Various cats have been employed at 10 Downing Street as “mouser” as well as house pet since the 1500’s, however the first official Chief Mouser title was given to Larry the cat in 2011 by the British government.

If you’ve been to New York or some large city, you’ve likely seen police officers riding atop a horse as they patrol. Police horses are a great option for cops as they make for fantastic “moving walls” and can sidestep alongside people in groups or alone.

With the advances in technology this role is no longer required from our feathered friends, but it is fascinating that carrier pigeons were once a reliable and utilized source of communication.

In the early 1970’s, scientists at Femilab ran into technical issues with their particle accelerator and came upon an interesting solution. They purchased a $35 ferret named Felicia to use a low-tech and low-cost solution to clear their machine’s cluttered tubes.

They say it’s hard to break into the world of modeling, but some have a leg up, or in this case four. A Shiba Inu named Bodhi holds the title as the “most stylish dog in the world” after his humans dressed him up as a gag and posted it to Facebook.

Cheesecake the capybara of Rocky Ridge Refuge, an Arkansas sanctuary for neglected and abused animals, has found her role as puppy nanny. Because she came into the sanctuary so young, she spent much of her time in the founder’s house with the dogs.

Jocko Flocko was a co-driver to two-time Grand National Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Tim Flock, and was the only co-driver in history part of a win. Ted Chester, Flock’s sponsor, was looking to give the NASCAR driver an edge. He found the Rhesus monkey in an Atlanta pet shop as a bid to distract other drivers.

Much like Cheesecake the capybara, Ruby went from rescued to rescuer. After not being up to task as a herder dog, her original owner wanted to put her down. However, she was spared and given to a sanctuary.

Aptly named, Magic the therapy horse is a miniature horse that visits assisted living facilities and spreads warmth and inspiration. One resident, who had not spoken for three years since her arrival, was moved by Magic’s sweetness, and went so far as to finally speak, “Isn’t she beautiful?”

Although Bosco has since passed, Bosco Ramos was the mayor of a California town called Sunol, California. The black Labrador and Rottweiler was put into a 1981 election as a joke against two humans.

A pit pony, or a mining horse as they were commonly known as, was a horse, pony, or mule that was used underground in mines. This practice was utilized in the mid-18^th century until the mid-20^th century.

This cutie patootie is named Jake and he is the office diamond dog at minor league baseball games. This golden retriever (how perfect) is best known for his abilities to retrieve bats, and balls and deliver water bottles and flowers.