Unlike other koala detection dogs who sniff out koala scat, Bear is able to smell and lead rescuers to live koalas Kelli Bender is the Pets Editor at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2013.

The amazing ability of dogs to detect and track down specific scents could have profound effects on Australia's koala population. Perhaps surprisingly, koalas are particularly prone to chlamydia.

The baby koala is cocooned in a cane picnic basket like an infant in a bassinet. “She was rescued from the jaws of a dog. You want to hold her?” De Villiers picks up Ruby and hands her to me ...