Snail-sniffing dogs dispatched in Pasco County

Well, there's something you don't see every day.

What's happening: Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried released this poster ahead of a press conference Thursday to discuss the state's fight against invasive giant African land snails in Pasco County.

• She was joined by Sparkey, a canine from the Division of Plant Industry's Detector Dog Inspection Program. Sparkey's colleagues, Mellon and Casie, are helping sniff out the snails around New Port Richey.

Flashback: This is the third time the giant African snails have invaded parts of Florida.

• During the first eradication effort, in the late 1960s, 17,000 snails were captured over seven years, costing $1 million.
• The second, starting around 2010, took 10 years to collect almost 170,000 snails at a cost of $23 million.

State of slime: More than 1,000 snails have been recovered this year so far.