Cadaver Dogs Need To Get Our Attention

"It's over there! The cadaver!" he might say. "You're looking for a dead body, I've scented one!" would be another direct alternative. Or even, "I smell something in yonder box, you might want to check it out," would probably be enough, although he's not explicitly mentioning cadavers or dead bodies.

All those would be useful explanations, but, alas, dogs can't talk. They can only motion (the Pointer), make noise (the Whistling Dachshund), or bite your leg off (the Pit-bull). If they're some other dog, they have to make do with the assumption that you who are searching for the body will recognize it when they've found one.

But this doesn't always happen if the body isn't really lost. In those cases, they have a few different choices: 1) Dance around and tug at you; 2) Claw at the casket, or the deceased if he's not yet in a box; or, 3) Ignore its discovery. But I can't see a cadaver dog having the decision-making capabilities to simply ignore the body. Because of their training, anytime you get them around a dead body, they're going to let you know!

Our best recommendation for cadaver dog owners would be to leave your dog home if you're going to a funeral and don't want to be bothered with all the antics. Because it can be embarrassing to disrupt someone's funeral by having to lecture your dog in public. Especially right there at the grave site, with the pastor having to start over several times with his final remarks. "If anyone has just cause why the deceased should not be buried, let him speak now or forever hold his piece." Then an embarrassing "Howl!"

The whole story is this: A cadaver dog, as macabre as it may sound, can be very useful if you're trying to find a missing body. But they're not helpful at all if the body's location is well known and not a mystery at all.

Cadaver Dog Gets 'Hit' At Funeral Home

An FBI cadaver dog registered a "hit" at one of the local funeral homes today, according to FBI spokesman, Ed Hoogar Javer.

The deceased had apparently disappeared from the mortuary recently, leading police on a thorough search of the premises, inside and out. His family was beside themselves, for a time being suspects in the disappearance, their motive ... money, there having been a family dispute about their inheritance.

An affadavit stated that the cadaver dog indicated a "positive hit" for the scent of a deceased person, having sniffed the premises for less than five minutes.

As it turned out, there had been no foul play. The deceased was simply rolled from one room to another by the cleaning lady, who then went on vacation. The question was raised why the police failed to find the body in their thorough search. Their explanation was that they are not dogs and so of course do not have the same keen sense of smell.

While there, the dog found four other bodies -- none of which was lost -- including one whose funeral service was in progress.