Dogs towing robots on squirrel chases? LifeLearn’s unofficial Veterinary Humor Department looks at three pet-related news stories you may have missed and what they may mean.
Smells Like Teen Angst
To help dogs who experience separation anxiety, Bioesse Technologies recently developed My Pet-My Scent, an all-natural, plant-based kit that uses inhalation technology inside a dog collar clip-on locket to allow dogs to smell the scent of their owners when they’re away.
To encourage sales, Bioesse wrote in its press release, “Love Is an Emotion That Dogs Can Smell,” and that certainly may be true. Yet given the complexity of human emotions, wide variances in family sizes, and any number of things that can change emotions, Veterinary Humor speculates that future home-based fragrances may include:
- Irritated Shopper
- Post-Robocall Rage
- Smells Like Teen Angst
While no plans have been announced to launch a feline version of My Pet-My Scent, a pet industry expert (who may not be an expert) has reportedly said, “The name would likely be My Cat-My Cat’s Indifference to Whether I’m Around or Not.”
Student Loan Anxiety and Campus Dogs
On Jan. 22nd, 2021, researchers at Florida International University’s International Forensic Research Institute (IFRI) announced they were training dogs to sniff out and alert people to any presence of COVID-19. According to the IFRI’s press release, the dogs (trained as part of campus-wide efforts to control the spread of the virus) can detect the odor of COVID-19 left on surfaces. “COVID-19 produces unique odor chemicals,” said Dr. DeEtta Mills, IFRI Director, “and also causes metabolic changes in those infected with the virus, resulting in odors that dogs can detect.”
No one knows what the canine side effects may be from extended time sniffing around a university campus. Yet Veterinary Humor has been informed that university students give off a vast array of subtle chemical odors unique to what students commonly think and worry about, and those smells also stick to surfaces. So, Veterinary Humor predicts that side effects for the IFRI’s sniffer dogs could include:
- Anxiety caused by wondering, “How will I pay off my student loan?”
- A near-telepathic ability to detect keg parties.
- Vocalization that sounds exactly like, “Go Panthers!”
Robots Being Towed by Dogs Chasing Squirrels
On Jan. 25th, 2021, Hanson Robotics founder and CEO David Hanson announced that four new models of the humanoid social robot Sophia will roll out of factories in 2021, and predicts thousands may be sold. While Hanson envisions his new robots lending assistance in the health care sector, he also envisions his robots providing company and assistance for people stuck at home due to COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions. Should that happen, Veterinary Humor speculates that three things may follow:
- Some people lucky enough to get one of Hanson’s robots will own dogs.
- Some of those pet owners will say, “Hey, robot. Can you take my dog for a walk?”
- Some dog will decide to bolt after a squirrel, leading some astonished bystander to utter for the first time in recorded human history, “Well look at that. There’s a dog towing a robot down the street on a wild squirrel chase.”
Need a bit more veterinary humor?
Try one of these:
- 7 Holiday Drinks That Should Exist for Veterinary Teams (There’s still time to raise a glass of Poodle Noir or Bichon Breezer in this special holiday humor blog.)
- 5 Recent Pet-Related Science Stories You May Have Missed. (Includes pets teaching robots to wash dishes. Honest.)
- 7 Fact-ish Facts About Cats. (Why are kittens so cute? Here’s your answer-ish answer.)
