Tabu, my Cairn Terrier, was missing. I clipped on Bruno’s leash and commanded, “Search! Find Tabu!” Bruno sniffed. His nose went to the ground. He zigzagged left, then right. He headed down the ravine, pulling me behind. Blackberry thorns tore at my clothes. My boots sank into decaying cedar. Bears, coyotes, and cougars inhabit the wilds of our area and my little Tabu was in danger. We traversed a stream rumbling with spring runoff. I trusted Bruno, my obsessive Border Collie-Lab cross, as he began an ascent. It was hot and muggy and the hike up was tough, an angle that had me close to the ground, nearly crawling. Bruno was tenacious. A tug: he had found her! Bruno lurched toward Tabu, nearly knocking her over with a nose nudge. Bruno did his job. Hot on Tabu’s scent trail, Bruno had been tracking, relying primarily on his sense of smell, possibly a thousand times more sensitive than that of humans. Dogs possess more than 220 million olfactory receptors, humans only 5 million.
Tabu, my Cairn Terrier, was missing. I clipped on Bruno’s leash and commanded, “Search! Find Tabu!” Bruno sniffed. His nose went to the ground. He zigzagged left, then right. He headed down the ravine, pulling me behind. Blackberry thorns tore at my clothes. My boots sank into decaying cedar. Bears, coyotes, and cougars inhabit the wilds of our area and my little Tabu was in danger. We traversed a stream rumbling with spring runoff. I trusted Bruno, my obsessive Border Collie-Lab cross, as he began an ascent. It was hot and muggy and the hike up was tough, an angle that had me close to the ground, nearly crawling. Bruno was tenacious. A tug: he had found her! Bruno lurched toward Tabu, nearly knocking her over with a nose nudge. Bruno did his job. Hot on Tabu’s scent trail, Bruno had been tracking, relying primarily on his sense of smell, possibly a thousand times more sensitive than that of humans. Dogs possess more than 220 million olfactory receptors, humans only 5 million.