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From rescued dog to bedbug hunter
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Sara the bedbug hunter. Photo: K-9 Sweeps.
Sara is a one-year-old Labrador retriever mix who has a nose for bedbugs. She was rescued from a shelter in Kentucky when she was a puppy and sent to the Florida Canine Academy where everyone was amazed at her ability to sniff out bugs. Now she and her human partner Joe Restifo make a clean sweep of hotels in Las Vegas to be sure they are de-bugged.
The Las Vegas Sun's Brendan Buhler reports that Sara is a natural at her job. When she detects the scent of bedbugs her whole body happily rocks back and forth waving her nose in their direction. When she and Restifo are called out to a hotel, he guides her past the carpets, furniture and bed. And when she finds the invisible bugs, Restifo marks them with blue tape so the hotel can exterminate the area.
Restifo, who owns K-9 Sweeps won’t divulge the name of his clients, but says the little bug is on the rise in the U.S. And he warns that even the cleanest rooms can be attacked at any time. Restifo got the idea for his company after one Las Vegas hotel began offering money to housekeeping staff when they found any of the little critters. In addition to hotel rooms, Sara has also sniffed her way through two group homes.
Sara and Restifo take their work seriously and train everyday. At the Florida Canine Academy the Lab spent 600 hours learning how to track down bugs. But life isn’t all work for the duo. Sara enjoys playing with the whole Restifo family, including and kids and a Pug.
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