Your School Sucks #1: The University of Washington Smells of Poo!

For cause, though. From the Chronicle of Higher Education:

Rin Tin Tin saved Rusty from bandits. Lassie protected Timmy from a tiger. Tucker, at the University of Washington, well ... he finds animal poop.

Scat, as it is called, is one of the most valuable currencies in biology. It yields insights about who is eating whom, whether there are toxins in the environment, and how big a population is. Until now, all but the best trackers primarily used droppings that were easy to find.

In the category of "why didn't someone think of this before," enter the scat dogs.

"The dogs allow us to find those samples over a very large remote wilderness area, from multiple species," says Samuel K. Wasser, director of the university's Center for Conservation Biology. Mr. Wasser uses the center's 11 dogs to find precious samples in Canada, Brazil, and even on the high seas. But he does not take just any dog. The highly trained animals must follow a strict code when looking for droppings.

My parents have black labs. They’re the absolute most fun breed of dog.