Double Take -- by Mark Sproxton

Pump jacks, drilling rigs, gas stations and oil batteries are common images people imagine when thinking of the oil and gas industry. Pipe and huge trucks are also common. Jobs as geologists, engineers, or rig workers are well recognized too. Dogs, typically, don't enter the picture.

For Victor Roberts of DeTech Corporation, a Calgary-based pipeline leak detection company, canines are a regular part of the business. "We have a chemical compound, developed by Imperial Oil, we odorize (inject) the pipeline with," he explained. "The canines are trained to identify that scent just like the dogs are for drugs with customs. We go out with the dogs and look for the chemical."

Using an elaborate protocol, and the knowledge of where a pipeline is buried, the dogs are able to use their heightened sense of smell to locate the "Tekscent" compound. "The dogs can pick it up in small concentrations," a busy Roberts said before heading out on a business call. "That's their mission in life." If a leak is detected, the required people are contacted and corrective measures taken.