Detector Dog Bear
and Dog Handler Vanessa Ochoa
![Detector Dog Bear, Orange County](https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/dogteams/images/bear_cover.jpg)
All About Bear
HANDLER: Vanessa Ochoa
COUNTY: Orange
BREED: Chocolate Labrador
WEIGHT: 57 lbs
DATE OF BIRTH: 06/05/2022
FAVORITE TOY: Big blue Wubba Kong
FAVORITE TREAT: Bear is not picky, the more the merrier.
FAVORITE PLACE: Anywhere where Bear can run free is a place for him.
Bear is a lovable male chocolate Labrador. He was procured by the USDA National Detector Dog Training Center in Newnan, GA, from Pacific Coast K9 in Custer, WA. Bear was just a year and a half old when he was partnered with his handler, Vanessa Ochoa. Since then, they have been an effective team. After training for two months and graduating from the USDA National Detector Dog Training Center in May 2024, they were deployed to Orange County.
Bear and Vanessa are the Orange County Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights & Measures Office’s first detector dog team, and together they will help augment the needed pest exclusion capacity to protect the local agricultural industry and the natural environment from injurious pest and diseases. Bear will be working at multiple FedEx and UPS facilities, looking for unmarked agricultural parcels that can carry harmful pests and diseases that threaten California’s robust agricultural industries and unique ecosystems. Eventually, the team will commence inspection activities at the two USPS distribution facilities located within the county.
Bear loves to work just as much as he loves to play. He enjoys going on long walks and running wild and free when his handler says it is safe to do so. Most importantly, he loves tearing apart his big blue Wubba Kongs; if he could, he would play fetch all day. If you see Bear around, make sure to give him some nice pets—he is a good boy.
![Bear posing 1](https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/dogteams/images/bear1.jpg)
![Bear posing 2](https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/dogteams/images/bear2.jpg)
![Bear posing 3](https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/dogteams/images/bear3.jpg)
CA Dog Teams
Dector Dog News Videos
![Berty Dog Detector](https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/dogteams/images/BertyInTheNews.jpg)
Meet Berty: Yolo County's first agriculture detector dog sniffing out trouble that could decimate crops
(2:48)
![Dog Detector](https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/dogteams/images/Sniffing-Out-Pests-Video-Cover7.png)
Dozer The Detector Dog Helps Keep Mail Pests Away From Yolo County Agriculture
Unwanted pests hitching a ride in the mail are a threat to California's billion-dollar agriculture, but they're no match for Dozer the Detector Dog. (CBS 13) (1:41)
Meet Dozer, Agriculture-Detector Dog
The latest weapon against pests threatening California's $2 billion agriculture business is Dozer, a canine trained to sniff out fruit insects (03:32)
![Dog Detector](https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/dogteams/images/Dozer-Video-Cover-GoodDaySacramento.jpg)
Good Day Sacramento: Dozer - Food & Agriculture Detector Dog
Cody Stark meets "Dozer," a dog trained to protect California agriculture from plant pests and diseases by detecting undeclared plant material and insects in packages. (03:26)
![Dog Detector](https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/dogteams/images/RetiredFriday-Video-Widget-Cover.jpg)
Every Day is Friday for this Detector Dog
Friday was forced into retirement at the age of nine, but she's not ready to give up sniffing boxes. She now lives with her handler, Jeremy Partch, where she's learning how to be...a pet. (2:52)
![Dog Detector](/egov/video/thumbs/DetectorDogs.jpg)
Detector Dogs Stop Plant Pests
Canine inspectors at shipping facilities and airport terminals from Sacramento to San Diego detect undeclared produce and plants in packages, to prevent the introduction of invasive plant pests into California. (02:46)