One of the most significant infrastructure projects built in Ontario in a generation is progressing smoothly on the Canada - U.S. border, in part thanks to the assistance of an adorable black labrador retriever.

A two-year-old black lab named Demon is part of the construction team working the Canadian side of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, an enormous new border crossing between Windsor and Detroit that will stand as the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America once complete in 2025.

Demon — who earned her name as a pup for her supposed troublemaking — serves an important role on the project team by keeping the bridge site secure from unwanted wildlife, which cautiously avoid her canine scent, similar to that of a predator.

🐶 Meet Demon, a black lab who patrols the construction site to deter birds and wildlife from nesting, protecting them from active construction. Stay tuned for a video coming soon all about a dog’s job on the #GordieHoweBridge project. pic.twitter.com/iIdKWehxOI

— Gordie Howe International Bridge (@GordieHoweBrg) August 21, 2023

To celebrate International Dog Day on August 26, the project team shared a video covering Demon's important work and showing off the adorable dog galloping about the base of the bridge in a Carhartt high-visibility vest.

🎥 Today is #InternationalDogDay. 🐶 In honour of our furry friends, watch this video featuring the dogs working on the #GordieHoweBridge project. Learn about the important role they play in protecting wildlife on site: https://t.co/bLK7eZ1NOR pic.twitter.com/Hjn333pA5S

— Gordie Howe International Bridge (@GordieHoweBrg) August 26, 2023

Demon is just one of several dogs working the site in this role, the workload broken up among 4 or 5 animals to ensure the bridge site has a dog roaming 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

And dogs aren't the only animals hard at work keeping the bridge site secure from unwelcome wildlife inhabitants. The Gordie Howe International Bridge project also employs fierce birds of prey to prevent birds from nesting within the high-flying infrastructure project's many nooks and crannies.

The bridge dogs work in conjunction with a team of falcons and their falconer handlers to keep the bridge construction clear of nesting birds.

Dogs working construction sites may sound like a novelty, but canine companions have been present during some of the most important builds in history.

One notable example was the so-called "Dog of the Dam," a shepherd born on the Hoover Dam construction site who befriended the vast team of workers building the enormous infrastructure project.

The canine (who was given an unfortunately racist name that I'm not going to include here) was a fixture on the construction site, and was even known to seek out supervisors when he spotted signs of danger.