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用鼻子尋找失物 Rolf, the Dog Who Finds Things

字體:16+-

佚名/Anonymous

Day after day, a small blue truck speeds along the roads of Denmarks island of Funen. A big dark dog sits beside the driver, looking at him as if listening to his instructions. Whenever the truck goes by, the people of Funen turn and stare, some in wonder, others in recognition. For on its side are printed the words Sporhunden Rolf(Rolf, the Tracking Dog)and a telephone number.

Yes, the passenger in the blue truck is Rolf, a dog that is hired to fnd things people have lost. Within seven years, Rolf and his owner have found close to$400,000 worth of missing items. Among them are watches, Jewelry, tools, money, cows, geese, pigs and other dogs. And what is Rolfs secret?His sensitive nose!

The owner of that nose is a ten-year-old German Shepherd. And the owner of the German Shepherd is Svend Anderson. Together they answer the 600 to 700 calls for help that they get each year. Four outof fve times they fnd what they are asked to look for.

Whenever the telephone rings in Andersons house, Rolf is instantly alert. He dashes to the truck, eager to be off.

On the way, Svend repeats again and again the name of what they are going to look for. So, by the time they arrive, Rolf is ready to get to work. He circles, backtracks and circles again. This he continues until he picks up the faint scent of an object lying in a spot where it doesnt belong.

One spring I went to Funen to make sure that Rolf‘s detective work was not some kind of fairy story. Over coffee and cakes Svend and I talked and watched Rolf. The dog’s stare was mysterious. He seemed alert yet calm. The telephone rang, and then I heard Svend saying,“A wallet?I can‘t promise, but we’ll do our best.”

An hour later we were in a park, tramping among the trees with Axel Jensen, the man who had phoned. Jensen had lost his Wallet.

For half an hour Rolf roamed in wide, broken zigzags. Occasionally, Svend would call him back or tell him to keep looking. No wallet was found.