“Maple,” a sweet-faced, super-smart English Springer Spaniel, is a triple treasure. Whether she’s sniffing mattress dust looking for bed bugs, scenting out human remains from the bow of a fishing boat, or huffing out bee colonies for bacteria, she uses her nose for good. With boundless joy and enthusiasm, Maple and her owner, Special Deputy Sue Stejskal, work with the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan. In the past ten years, the dog and Stejskal have forged a strong partnership while pivoting their scenting career to three different odors in three diverse scenes — bed bugs, human remains, and bee hives.
Maple’s high-powered involvement as a Certified Human Remains Detection (retired) (HRD) dog has earned her the prestigious 2025 Award for Canine Excellence (ACE) in the Search and Rescue Dog, Human Detection Category. This award, presented by the AKC Humane Fund, is an affirmation of Maple’s exceptional service and unwavering dedication. Each year, the AKC Humane Fund recognizes six dogs who go above and beyond the claim of Best Friend. These hardworking dogs make outstanding contributions to individuals or entire communities across the following categories: Service Dog, Search and Rescue Dog in one of two subcategories: disaster response and human detection, Uniformed Service K-9, Exemplary Companions, and Therapy Dogs.
Now retired as a search and rescue (SAR) dog, Maple (Springville Maple Rush, CGC, TKN, RN, RI) was certified by the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) for land and water cadaver detection, both inside and outside. The English Springer Spaniel and Stejskal from Vicksburg and Mackinac Island, Michigan, will be recognized at the 2025 AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin in Orlando, Florida, in December, marking the end of a remarkable SAR career.
Springboard to Search and Rescue
Although Maple isn’t Stejskal’s first SAR dog, Stejskal’s training experience runs deep. “I’ve had several dogs before Maple, so dogs were not foreign to me,” says Stejskal. A research scientist in the pharmaceutical industry, the former veterinary technician began with Whippets in 1975 and competed in conformation and obedience. In 2000, Stejskal acquired “Chili,” a miniature Wire-Haired Dachshund, and a year later, the hound earned an AKC Canine Good Citizen certificate before participating in tracking and AKC Rally. “I thought we could do more, so we ended up in the world of cadaver detection dogs,” says Stejskal.
As Stejskal became more involved in search and rescue, she added “Buzz,” a Labrador Retriever, and “Otter,” a Schipperke. A square, black breed, Schipperkes range in height from 11 to 13 inches. “When we went on narrow search sites, Otter’s small size came in handy,” Stejskal says.
But it was going out on the most horrific human remains case imaginable that changed the course of Stejskai’s involvement with her HRD dogs. It happened when she and Buzz reported on a case that still haunts her. “It was the triple homicide of a young couple in hard times,” Stejskai recalls. “The scene of the woman and her baby held captive and tortured for five days is indescribable.”
Upon completing this challenging assignment, Stejskai made the painful decision to curtail working in human remains detection. The traumatic experience of the triple homicide case profoundly affected her. “I struggled through this disturbing experience, but Buzz helped me get through it,” Stejskal says. “Buzz liked going out on the job so much, so I vowed to continue with him as long as he wanted to.”
Maple’s New Adventure
But Stejskal’s life with a detection dog was only beginning. In 2016, she imported 10-week-old “Maple” from Canada. The English Springer Spaniel puppy quickly became Buzz’s little buddy, and the two formed a deep bond. “I wanted a medium-sized dog with a strong work ethic to train for detection but not human remains,” Stejskal says. Although Springers aren’t the breed most people think of using for detection in the U.S., she knew they were popular choices in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain. “Happy, high-energy dogs, Springers are willing to please their owners and are at their best when they’re working,” she says.
After learning that a friend operated a bed bug location service, Stejskal began training 8-month-old Maple as her partner to sniff out the live pests. “She took to it like a duck takes to water,” Stejskal recalls. “Springers find joy in whatever you put in front of them, but Maple could have used a little less energy.” The team conducted library inspections in 2018, when Stejskal read a scientific paper reporting that human DNA is likely recoverable from bed bugs and could serve as a potential forensic source.
“Buzz and I continued with HRD searches, but before I knew it, I was back in the game with a second dog doing criminal investigations,” she says. For two years, Maple searched apartment and hotel crime scenes until the COVID-19 pandemic left them without places to work or train. “Now I had an active dog who liked finding this scent, but no place to work and a sheriff’s department without an HRD dog since Buzz’s died in 2019,” Stejskal. “It was time for a career change.”
Training Takes a U-Turn
Training Maple to pick up the new target odor and alert her partner went quickly. Within a month, the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) certified the dog in cadaver detection. “Since she had already trained indoors for bed bugs, the additional scent training meant working outdoors and recognizing it underwater. Adding water search training took longer to perfect. The team sits in the bow of a fishing boat while the dog air scents the surface of the water for air bubbles that indicate the presence of a drowned victim. “At one water search, Maple became so excited that she hung her head too far over the boat and fell in the water,” Stejskal says. “When she alerts me of a find, she sits and scratches at the bow of the boat.”
Maple’s most notable case involved the drowning death of a kayaker who came too close to a dam. From her front-facing position on the boat, Maple recognized the odor and alerted her partner.
Many of the HRD cases Maple worked on were cold cases leftover from Buzz’s assignments. The team conducted many searches but seldom found anything, which is typical of HRD dogs. “But whenever she does work, she’s a machine and never gives up, plus her tail wags a million miles a minute,” Stejskal says. In two years, Maple searched more than 20 areas, some as large as 60 acres.
In 2024, a cold case search in the middle of the woods over rugged terrain with unstable surfaces ended the Springer’s HRD career. “When she yipped in the distance and didn’t return to me, I went looking for her,” recalls her partner. Maple stood at the base of an 8-foot embankment, reluctant to put any weight on her front leg. At 8-1/2 years old, her outdoor search career was cut short. The veterinarian found bone chips in both elbows, which required surgical removal and restricted activity for 10 weeks.
Third Chance a Charm
While Maple and her partner’s time in human remains detection was over, their scent-detection skills pivoted once more. When a researcher from the Michigan State University Pollinator Performance Center called Stejskal to ask if Maple could detect the odor of bacteria that kill honeybees, their new career began.
Not many English Springer Spaniels own a tailored beekeeping suit with a hood for flappy ears, and sting-proof booties. But this was Maple’s new protection and purpose in life, as she worked to help save thousands of honeybee hives. Her protective gear allows her to get up close and personal with bee colonies, using her keen sense of smell to detect the harmful bacteria.
The spore-forming bacteria that cause American Foul Brood (AFB) produce a specific odor that kills honeybee larvae and pupae. A severe disease that wipes out bee colonies, AFB can be prevented from spreading with early detection.
“I’ve trained Maple to detect low levels of these spores,” Stejskal says. “If you have a bunch of baby bees in a hive with AFB, the hive stinks.” While humans can inspect hives collected in wooden boxes, it takes a long time to inspect boxes stacked on top. Pulling the boxes apart and slowly removing each frame to find the odor is time-consuming. Dogs can do the job faster and more efficiently.
After working with Maple and how she detects the bee bacteria, Stejskal is writing a manual for other dog detection handlers.
“Three career changes with Maple have certainly been exciting and fun, but the most challenging has been getting the bee suit to fit her properly,” Stejskal says.
At home, Maple likes lining up her toys next to her partner. “She drops them one by one by my leg and sits and waits for me to pick them up and throw them,” Stejskal says. “At 10 years old, she’s the Queen Bee of our house and our heart and the sweetest dog you’ll ever find.”