Oh, how the humans judge us, we with our noses up one another’s butts. They deemed it such words as “gross” and “disgusting.” And if we happened to partake of a warm stool now and then we
Oh, how the humans judge us, we with our noses up one another’s butts. They deemed it such words as “gross” and “disgusting.” And if we happened to partake of a warm stool now and then we would be told how bad we were and kisses were withheld for an inhumane amount of time.
But now the world needs butt sniffers. And guess who they are turning to? That is correct, us, those they so freely mocked beforehand.
We have a man named Sam Wasser to thank for recognizing what lesser humans thought were vices are, in fact, virtues.
Wasser is the director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington. He came to the realization that there is a lot that can be learned from poop on the ocean floor. And when you need poop detectives who are you going to call? That’s right: K-9.
Here are some facts about us dogs and our sniffers: Our sense of smell is 10,000 to 100,000 more powerful than man’s, so don’t tell us you weren’t the one who dealt it, everyone of you have your own distinct natural gas smell. we can smell poop from a mile away, and we really like smelling poop.
Since 1997 scientists have used us to find the poop left by moose, tigers, wolves, spotted owls, salamanders, and even crickets. (Why crickets? Let’s just say Jiminy owes someone some money, and that bug is a nervous pooper.)
And now we are sniffing out whale poop. Did you know that right whale poop is bright orange and smells terrible and that orca poops smell like salmon? Of course, you didn’t. Who would walk around with facts like that in their head? But now you do, and you will never get that fact of our your mind.
While humans only hold up signs and chant our sniffers are actually saving the whales. We help the researchers find the poop. They study it to find out why whales moms are losing their calves at birth, why whales are not getting enough food, and what effect pollutants have on their diets. Through our olfactory skills, we may save the whale population. A wise soul once said if the whales die then the people die. (That soul was me, and I just said it so someday, when the saying is famous, you can tell your grandchildren you were there the day Foley Monster said it.)
The next time you see a dog butt sniffing or sticking their nose it poop do not yell at him; he is just saving the world.