// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Dog that hunts invasive 'sea vomit' honoured as animal of the year
A working dog from the Scottish Highlands has been named animal of the year by a charity for hunting down an invasive marine creature called the carpet sea squirt.
This organism, also nicknamed "sea vomit", is particularly harmful to coastal wildlife and economies.
Working at low tide with her owner, Dr Texa Sim, black Labrador Sgiath has found hundreds of colonies of the sea squirt, which - if left uncontrolled - can smother and kill native species.
Sgiath (pronounced Skee-ah) is thought to be the UK's first sea squirt-hunting dog.
Carpet sea squirt can be tricky to spot among seaweed
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) , external is awarding Sgiath animal of the years at its 26th annual animal Action Awards ceremony on Thursday 15 October.
Sim, a marine ecologist based near Glencoe, has had Sgiath since she was a puppy and the bond between the two is strong.
"Sgiath is incredibly clever. Her problem solving and her ability to take on new challenges and learn so quickly are just phenomenal, and it's so amazing to watch."
As a pup, Sgiath was trained as a mountain rescue dog. The Labrador proved to be so good that Sim wondered if she could use her skills to help with marine conservation work.
Sgiath has been trained to recognise the scent of the carpet sea squirt. And now, the six year old joins her owner on the beaches to sniff it out.