HISTORIC-MINDED HOUNDS: While an hour spent at Bodie State Historic Park in Mono County might consist of taking a few pictures of buildings, admiring the craftsmanship of the town's early layout, and chatting with a park ranger about a few of the 19th-century mining hub's more prominent characters, there are people, and sometimes animals, hard at work to preserve the place, and to protect and further research. The people end of things we understand -- Bodie is a favorite for historians and Golden State-focused scholars -- but the animals? They hail from the Institute of Canine Forensics in Woodside, California, and they call upon the fabled settlement to seek out the historic unknown gravesites that might slip the attention of those human stewards of the town. Those detective dogs, and their efforts, were spotlighted at the Bridgeport Founder's Day Dinner on Aug. 31.
OVER 400 UNMARKED GRAVES: It started a few years back when John Grebenkemper, an associate with the Institute, visited Bodie with pup Tali in tow. After meeting with Bodie Foundation historian Terri Geissinger, and explaining that "Tali was being trained to detect human historical remains" with the ICF, plans to invite more Institute-smart pups into the park began to form. The dogs would prove a big help to those attempting to know more about Bodie, since many burgs from the 1800s did not immediately establish cemeteries upon their founding, but rather chose random and unmarked places as final resting places for the local citizenry. Tali, Rhea, and more of ICF's four-footed detectives made for Bodie-close spots that were believed to be likely first burial areas for Bodie, and discovered, through their amazingly sharp canine senses, over 400 unmarked graves.
THE PUPS... of course aren't always in the park, but perhaps, on your next visit to the place that many consider America's best-preserved ghost town, you'll think of their work, their abilities, and how dogs can partner with people in the unfolding of history.
