Ikura and Haru scout a beach in Kochi Prefecture to search for plastic bottles. (Video by Masatoshi Kasahara)

Photo/Illutration Ikura, left, and Haru collect plastic bottles on a beach in Kuroshio, Kochi Prefecture, on Nov. 30. (Masatoshi Kasahara)

KUROSHIO, Kochi Prefecture--Meet Ikura, a Boston terrier whose idea of a walk on the beach is to help her owner collect discarded or washed up plastic bottles, rather than play fetch with a ball or stick.

Ikura's exploits on Irino beach here not only earned her local fame but also a canine companion only too eager to pitch in on trash collection.

Over the course of six years, Ikura has collected something like 3,500 plastic bottles, making her a star attraction among local residents, according to Nobuyuki Niiya, who is chairman of the Kochi Surfing Association and her owner.

The next dog to enter the picture is a French bulldog called Haru. The 4-year-old female is kept by Mutsumi Masuda, 43, who lives in nearby Tosa-Shimizu.

Haru first encountered Ikura when the owner’s eldest son, Daina, 16, now in the second year of a correspondence course at Ogata High School, visited a surfing competition venue with her to pursue his dream of becoming a professional surfer.

Seeing Ikura searching the Irino beach for plastic bottle during her morning and evening 1-kilometer walks with Niiya, 61,  Haru quickly started emulating the activity.

Every time Mutsumi drives to the sea with Daina for surfing practice, Haru accompanies them.

Haru also scouts beaches for plastic bottles in Okinohama in Tosa-Shimizu near their home, as well as Hirano and Futami in Shimanto, Kochi Prefecture, during Daina’s wave riding training.

Driven by her strong curiosity, Haru refined her skills to crunch on bottles like Ikura, and recovered 1,000 pieces of litter over the course of three years.

Now people sometimes mistake Haru for Ikura and speak to her, while she is helping to spruce up Irino beach.

“Haru never gives up before finding a plastic bottle,” said Mutsumi, stroking the dog’s head.

Daina, who has been drawn to the waves almost every day since he started surfing as a sixth-grader at elementary school, said Haru's doggedness helps to raise awareness of the global issue of plastic pollution.

“My surfer friends have a strong interest in the oceanic trash problem,” he said. “I am impressed that Haru does such a good job.”

Plastic waste has been discovered in the bodies of sea turtles and whales, catapulting plastic contamination in the oceans into the global spotlight.

“Simply imagining even more dogs retrieving plastic bottles to keep the oceans clean makes me happy,” said Niiya.

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