7 Unusual Jobs for Extraordinary Dogs

Extraordinary Dogs with Extraordinary Jobs

Our pet dogs are nothing but a man’s best friend, but did you know that they can do human jobs too? Indeed, aside from being so adorable and lovable, our pets can learn skills and have actual jobs.

In this list, we searched the web to find the best dogs that have unique jobs. What astonished me is the fact that these dogs love what they do. 

Lobster Diver Lila

Lila indeed enjoys being a diver picking up trash and catching Lobsters as well. Now Lila’s other Labrador brother, Maverick, also joined the pack to become the world’s first two Labrador lobster divers.

Lila is a Black Labrador who learned diving through training from Lila’s man-pal Alex Schulze. Lila’s now able to catch lobsters from the deep sea bed.

Schulze trained Lila not just for fun, but he wanted additional help in cleaning the bodies of water. Alex Schulze is a co-founder of Devoceanwhich is dedicated to conserving sea turtles and protecting sea life from trash and pollution.

Riley the Art Guardian

Did you know that a dog at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston helps detect bugs, termites, and moths that pest the artworks?

Yes, Riley is a Weimaraner breed trained for months to sniff on important art pieces to determine if bugs are feasting inside. Riley is so good at his job that he can detect bugs in other mediums of art such as cloth, wood, and paper.

Riley would just sit in front of artwork to alert his human partner if he found bugs deteriorating the art piece. Art preservation is valuable since these pieces are irreplaceable.

With Riley’s help, protecting important pictures depicting our history and culture is an important job is preserving paintings.

Tucker the Whale Poop Sniffer

Whales have vital roles in the sea ecosystem, so if they go extinct, the balance of nature will be disturbed. Dogs like Tucker who have particular tasks such as this give whales a chance to repopulate and avoid becoming extinct.

At the University of Washington, Conservation Canines are trained to sniff out whale poop to help locate threatened and endangered whales.

One of the many dogs trained through the program is Tucker, who manifests insatiable energy and an exceptional ability to smell the whale feces.

Tucker helps scientists track down whale excrement. The whale poop is important in identifying the genetic identities, hormone levels, and other valuable information about the whales.

That information is used to recognize if the water creature is threatened or endangered. Tucker has become one of the scientists’ favorites as it always knows where to find the feces.

Tucker alerts the people by moving forward to the front of the boat.

 Piper The Wildlife Control Officer

K-9 Border Collie, Piper, has one of the most bizarre jobs in the world. It is a Wildlife Control Canine at the Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, Michigan.

Piper is responsible for maintaining the airplane runways clean and orderly. It chases away wild animals such as birds and rodents that become prey for predatory birds.

Piper was hired as part of the mandated Wildlife Management Hazard Plan. He was the lucky dog to be chosen. He’s one of the ten K-9 Wildlife Control Canines in the U.S.

So his task is a difficult one since he has to scare the wildlife away from the runways to avoid accidents.

Piper’s presence at the airport uplifts the morale of the pilots and airport staff.

Truffle Hunters

We all know that truffles are surprisingly expensive. It’s not because of their taste, which most people don’t find interesting despite their cost. But because truffles can’t be cultivated and only grow wild and are hard to find.

Since truffles are rare, it requires patience and careful search of the area. However, some dogs have an exceptionally strong sense of smell and can find the truffle treasure.

Dogs are trained to specifically recognize the smell of truffles whose odor is strong and stinky. Some truffles only hide behind roots. Others can be deeply buried in the soil.

So if you have a dog that can find truffles, then you’re in for a real treasure hunt. That’s because of how expensive truffles are. They can cost up to $2,000 per pound.

Max The Dog Mayor

In Idyllwild, California, a famous golden retriever named Max II runs the office as Mayor of the town. Yes, you heard it right, Max II is a dog mayor. He has the task of keeping the town’s residents happy.

Mayor Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller II came from a royal lineage of dogs in Idyllwild. Although he has no political power, he likes to make the town peaceful.

Max also participates in charities and events where most people like him. His popularity in the town makes him like a celebrity. People like to take pictures of him while parading the streets and joining different activities.

Mayor Max II only had one mission, “to make the world a better place by conveying unconditional love and doing as many good deeds for others as possible,” said his chief of staff and human companion, Phyllis Mueller.

Tennis Ball Catchers

In 2017 during the Brazil Open Tennis Tournament, six rescued dogs were commissioned to have a vital role in the competition as ball dogs.

These dogs – Cindy, Nanda, Mia, Arlete, Pretinha, and Ovelha were trained to fetch the tennis balls. The tournament lasted for 2 days, and the audience was entertained by watching the adorable dogs.

The dogs wore athletic armbands and scarves. This caught the attention of people on the internet, and the dogs became internet sensations.

According to the event organizer, this showcase of dogs as ball fetchers was not for a gimmick. But to raise awareness of miserable rescued dogs being taken care of and given opportunities to live their life happily.
 

 

Sources:

Cellania, M. (2016 February 26). 6 Dogs with Unusual Jobs. Mental Floss. https://www.mentalfloss.com/

Larkin, M. (2020 March 17). 9 unusual and cool jobs you didn’t know that dogs could have. Insider. https://www.insider.com/

Clark, M. (n.d.). 7 of The Weirdest Jobs Dogs Can Do with Their Noses. Dogtime. https://dogtime.com/

Kindelan, K. (2015 November 28). Man Trains His Dog to Catch a Lobster. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/

Cantor, M. (2019 June 5). ‘He’d like see peace on Earth’: how a dog became mayor of a California town. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/

1. (2017 February 23). Ball dogs back at Brazil Open Tennis Tournament. CNN Sports. https://edition.cnn.com/

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Author

Philip Aristoteles

Philip Aristoteles is a freelance Content Writer and a self-confessed bookworm. Apart from writing different content for businesses and creative outputs, he’s also fond of writing poetry that delves into topics such as love, self-discovery, and mental health. He likes classic films and loves to do reviews of them.