Posted 2/25/2021 12:23 PM (GMT -5)
This is off-topic, but it's a story about just how powerful a dog's sense of smell is, so maybe it could be argued it's sort of on-topic. That dogs have amazing olfactory abilities.
It's a personal experience I had once with a dog we owned in the mid-90's. He was Sport, a small, black miniature poodle, very friendly little guy.
One summer day my wife called me as I was about to get off work, and asked me to stop on the way home and pick up some Kentucky fried chicken for supper. So I said sure, went and got some, and drove on home.
It was a very warm day, and with the air conditioner not working at the time in my car, I did what many of us would do in that situation, I rolled the driver side window all the way down, and then reached over and rolled down the passenger side window a couple of inches, for cross ventilation, and drove home that way. On the way, I could definitely smell the KFC in the plastic bag on the seat beside me.
When I got home and was pulling into the driveway, I immediately rolled up the driver side window. The passenger side window was still open a couple of inches, and I was going to reach over and roll it up in a minute. But first I sat there for a minute or two sorting some papers I had brought home from work.
As I was doing this, I looked over at the front porch of the house, and noticed that Sport was sitting near the front door, as he often did. And from where he was sitting to the car was about 30 feet.
One more thing to mention. KFC food was a favorite in our household, and whenever I brought some into the house, Sport would let out this unique, very recognizable whine, to the effect "Oh, it smells so good, please let me have some! Please! Please!" A very distinctive whine.
So I finished shuffling the papers, which had taken maybe a couple of minutes or so to do, reached over and rolled up the passenger side window, picked up the papers and KFC bag, and exited the driver's side.
As soon as I got out of the car, I heard it. Sport's KFC whine. No doubt about it, that's what it was.
But the only way he could have picked it up, and granted the odor of it was strong inside the car, was when the smell drifted through the two-inch gap in the passenger side window (remember, I had rolled up the driver's side window when pulling into the driveway), and it drifted the 30 feet through the air until it reached the porch, and Sport picked it up.
How amazing! We humans couldn't even begin to use our noses so effectively, but Sport the dog did!
A wonder of nature, a dog's sense of smell!