Scent of history: Working dogs assist in Tumwater cemetery discoveries 

Shirley Stirling

At precisely 8 a.m. on July 22, 2025, three skilled working dogs — Kili, Torr and Riley — from Cairn Canine Detection began their search at Tumwater’s historic Union Pioneer Calvary Cemetery.

Once two separate burial grounds — Union Cemetery and Pioneer Calvary — they now form a single, deeply significant resting place for some of the city’s earliest settlers. With noses to the ground and tails wagging, the dogs set out to detect graves and help uncover long-buried stories.  

The cemetery stands as a silent witness to Tumwater’s early days, including many undocumented burials. In the 19th century, families who could not afford burial fees sometimes laid loved ones to rest in unmarked graves under cover of darkness.

Further complicating the historical record, the Roman Catholic Church eventually deconsecrated the cemetery, and many Catholic graves were moved.

Additionally, many Protestant graves were relocated — primarily to the maintained Masonic Memorial Park — due to the old cemetery’s lack of maintenance. These changes left behind a fragmented and sometimes forgotten patchwork of remains. 

The restoration of this historic site has been ongoing. Last year, volunteers cleaned headstones; this year, they began straightening them.

Now, with the help of Cairn Canine Detection’s remarkable team, more mysteries are being solved. In just one day, the dogs made 24 separate detections. 

For the dogs, what we consider serious work is joyful play. And each canine find was rewarded. For Kili, his reward came in the form of a red rubber ball to chase or a favorite treat.

To help ensure accuracy, every effort is made to verify the find with a second dog, time allowing. Following identification, Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution volunteers conduct a systematic grave probing in the immediate area, as well as pursue other verification.  

The dogs performing this work may be male or female, and come from various breeds, including Border Collies, Labradors, and other working or sporting types. Some are obtained through specialty breeders, while others come from rescue organizations.

What they all share is a strong “play drive”— a natural motivation similar to that of a skilled hunting dog, which makes them eager to work (play) and highly trainable for scent-detection tasks. 

Cairn Canine Detection’s dogs are specially trained and certified as Historical Human Remains Detection Dogs. They are capable of locating human remains that are sometimes hundreds of years old— with astonishing precision.

While humans possess roughly six million scent receptors, dogs have more than 300 million, allowing them to detect even faint traces that linger in the earth for centuries.

In fact, the dogs train on remains that are 900 to 1,000 years old. Environmental factors, such as wind, soil temperature and weather, can all influence the strength of the scent, which is why the team plans to return this fall for a follow-up visit. 

This effort is part of a broader cemetery restoration initiative led by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Sacajawea Chapter, in collaboration with the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) George Rogers Clark Chapter, and partnership with the City of Tumwater. Together, they are committed to preserving the historical integrity of Tumwater’s oldest burial sites — through grave cleaning, straightening, and uncovering sunken or hidden markers.  

DAR Project Coordinator, Franida Maudsley, commented on the pro-bono work by Cairn Canine Detection.

“We are thrilled to work with this these dog handlers and their dogs! I want to give special thanks to President Suzanne Elshult (Kili), Operations Manager June Mansfield, Sally Olsen (Torr), and Cindy Arnold (Riley). Without their help, the workload of finding sunken gravestones would have been overwhelming!” Maudsley said.

Notably, Suzanne Elshult was also the handler of the late Labrador retriever, Keb, who worked the devastating Oso Slide in 2014. The Oso Slide — a massive mudslide near Oso, Washington — claimed 43 lives and destroyed 49 homes, making it the deadliest landslide in U.S. history.

Keb and Suzanne were among the first and last dog handler teams deployed at the site, navigating through mud, rubble, and collapsed homes in an extraordinary search and recovery effort. Suzanne was not alone — fellow team members June Mansfield and Sally Olsen, along with Sally’s dog Skye, were also deployed to the Oso site.  

In 2022, Keb was honored as the national winner of the American Humane Society’s Search and Rescue Dog Award. That same year, Elshult and James Guy Mansfield published "A Dog’s Devotion," chronicling Keb’s remarkable life of service, including her work at Oso. 

Each canine-identified site will be revisited in the coming months to guide respectful, accurate restoration. For now, the team celebrates a day of meaningful progress made possible by the talent, training, and joyful determination of their four-legged partners. 

Donations to the nonprofit 501(c)(3), Cairn Canine Detection are welcome. 

Shirley Stirling, of Lacey, writes about good things people in Thurston County are doing. If you'd like to nominate someone to be profiled, contact her at shirley@theJOLTnews.com or comment below.