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Have you ever seen a dog with a blank expression on its face, nose held high, staring deep into the woods, or down the street, or in your neighbor's trash can? Have you ever wondered what they were smelling or how far away it was? Forget all thoughts of following your dog off into the sunset, chasing the phantom of the olfactory…it could be a long chase!
Some dogs, especially ones with a Bloodhound expression on their face, can lead you up to (or over) 12 miles away. Twelve miles at 50mph would take approximately 14 minutes and 23 seconds if you were driving (and the dog steering with its nose out the window).
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God created dogs with an absolutely awe-inspiring sense of smell, 12 miles away, 40 ft underground, 80ft underwater, or narcotics in a gas tank. It’s no wonder that about 40% of certain dogs’ brains are dedicated to their sense of smell. The Bloodhound’s sense of smell is so widely understood that it can be accepted as evidence in US courts. But how did dogs end up with a nose 10,000 to 100,000 times stronger than yours or mine?
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Dogs have 20 times the number of olfactory receptors that we do. With up to 300 million compared to our 6 million, along with a wet nose to catch scents, dogs also have a peculiar way of breathing that assists in their wonderful whiffer.
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Two olfactory channels create a super-smeller unrivaled in the animal kingdom—almost. Elephants and bears take the lead over dogs…But since you most likely don’t have an elephant yipping in your backyard, licking your face, and chewing up your furniture…I decided to make this article on dogs to make it a bit more personable.
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One of these channels is designated for breathing, and the other is for smelling. Breathing out forces air out of the side of the dog’s nostrils, creating an air trap that draws in even more scent particles. With this ingenious method of inhaling and exhaling, God designed the animal to be able to latch onto one smell, catalog it, and add other smells to that catalog without confusing the targeted scents. They can thus effectively note and keep track of certain smells that catch their attention—e.g., the convict that hadn’t bathed in 2 weeks, a coon running through the neighborhood at 2:00 am, or that pizza he is watching you selfishly eating on the couch.
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Did all this happen over millions of years through blind chance and evolution? It seems to me there is a better explanation for the incredible canine stink seeker. God. The diversity of Creation is a testament to His handiwork. Although this article may not provide much in the way of supporting evidence against evolution, I believe it sniffs out the glory of God’s creation. To the Jews of the Bible, dogs were dirty, repulsive, and despicable. The fact that God gave such an incredible talent to one of the most despised of animals goes to show that He truly cared about His creation. And if He cares for the lowest of animals, how much more must He care for you, the highlight of His creation. It also reminds us that before the fall of Adam, the entire Creation of God was clean and perfect. No animal needed to be abhorred because no animal carried disease or uncleanness. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth…and man’s best friend.
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— Clay
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Reference/Research articles:
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-animals-have-the-strongest-sense-of-smell.html
https://www.mylawquestions.com/which-animals-evidence-is-admissible-in-court.htm
The Pwoof is in the Shmelling:
Fido nose best!
