That Rotten Smell

Yesterday, Jessi smelled something in the yard. Immediately, her nose was on the hunt for whatever had required her attention. I was raking leaves, hoping to get a good photo of her bouncing through my pile. Instead, I got a shot, through my own eyes, of her holding (what appeared to be) a dead rabbit in her mouth; just the fur and spine were left from whatever animal decided to leave its catch in our grass in the first place.

I demanded she drop the thing. “Hee Hee, Ha Ha, Nananabooboo” is what she said back to me. Of course, she thought this was a game of chase. She did as her mommy asked, though, as she usually does because she’s a good girl. She dropped her tasty treat where she stood, and I put her inside the house. No cute leaf pile photo today. (Insert eye roll) But why is it that dogs like rotten, smelly stuff?

Unlike us humans, sampling the fruity and floral potions at the fragrance counter, dogs go for the more putrid “pee-yoo” fumes. You have to think of it like this: Dogs, when they were more “wolfie” were predators, and still are to a certain extent. They roll in foul things to cover up their “dog” smell. This helps them become more stealthy hunters. I’ve caught her numerous times rolling in deer poop immediately after having a fresh bath and blowout.

Listen, I am a hunter myself and I’ll wear camo when I hunt and I might even take some doe urine with me but I don’t bathe in it. And, I’m certainly not eating or rolling in something dead even if it means the harvest of a lifetime. No, sir.

Thankfully, Jessi enjoys having her teeth brushed, no joke. I pull her toothpaste and toothbrush (specifically for dogs) out of the drawer and she lines up, ready. I’ve already tried to humanize this four-legged furry butt as much as I can but there’s one thing for certain. Jessi would rather smell like “dead” than daisies.