Dog picks up new trick during coronavirus that gives back to community
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Apparently, it's not just people picking up new hobbies and learning new things during the coronavirus pandemic. One dog was trained to identify trash and throw it away.
Lesa Albertson and her Weimaraner Preston used to go to the dog park every day, but when COVID-19 hit, they couldn't go anymore so they had to pick up a new hobby.
"I thought, 'I need something creative for him to do,' to work his brain, to get him exercise and something that could maybe be useful to the community," said Albertson. "I thought, 'Well there's plenty of trash every morning by where we live so why don't we learn to pick up trash?'"
WATCH THE INTERVIEW WITH LESA BELOW:
Within a week, Albertson had trained Preston to identify trash and place it in a bucket.
"Trash was kind of a new thing because he knew those weren't his toys, but he learned in about three or four days," said Albertson.
She said he identifies everything from bottles and cans to cigarette boxes and discarded gloves and masks.
They've been filling up a five-gallon bucket of trash about three times a day for the past two months.
"I don't think that we'll stop," she said. "If we don't go in the morning then Preston will run to get his leash and then onto the balcony to get the plastic jug."
