Dog sniffs out buried treasure at Abbotsford truffle farm

Brooke Fochuk is training her dog Dexter to sniff out rare, expensive truffles at a hazelnut plantation in Abbotsford.

"We're a perfect team because he can show me, with his nose, where the truffle is," she said.

British Columbia has its own truffle varieties, but Dexter the pug is after the European black gold of the species: the rare Périgord, found normally in Italy, Spain and France.

Bill Stewart has found just two on his farm, which he believes are the first ever grown in Canada. 

"Well, the first one we found, we shipped half of it to UBC and they did some microscopic work and then a DNA testing. So, it's the real thing," he said.

Stewart infused the roots of his hazelnut trees with Périgord spores. With luck, he hopes to harvest 100 kilograms a hectare — or about 90 pounds an acre. He says the truffles are worth up to $1,000 a pound.

The problem is that it has taken nine years to get that very first truffle.

"Hard to keep your optimism up, but really, they're right on schedule actually," Stewart said.

Stewart hopes next year will produce that first bumper crop, and Fochuk thinks Dexter can find it for him, even if pugs aren't exactly known for having the most sensitive nose.

"I'd challenge any other truffle dog to a test with Dexter and I'm pretty sure I'd put my money on him," Fochuk says.