Super Sniffers by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

Super Sniffers: Dog Detectives on the Job

By Dorothy Hinshaw Patent

Bloomsbury. 2014

ISBN: 9780802736185

Grades 3-6

To review this book, I borrowed a copy from my local public library.

I couldn't resist reviewing another book about dogs who use their incredible sense of smell to help get the job done.

Take any dog, any dog, for a walk along a sidewalk or in a park, and you won’t be walking much—you’ll be standing there holding a leash while the dog sniffs at every bush and every lamppost.

That’s good, because with their keen sense of smell –a bloodhound has over three hundred million sensitive cells that can detect odors–dogs have been recruited to help in a variety of service areas. In Super Sniffers: Dog Detectives on the Job, veteran science writer Dorothy Hinshaw Patent combines how dogs are trained with some real-life examples. There are search-and-rescue dogs, law enforcement canines and dogs who are helping save our planet by sniffing out invasive weeds, locating the scat of endangered species, and detecting contaminated water.

Entries are one to two pages. Sidebars highlight a specific dog and their job. Lots of color photos enhance the text. Back matter includes further reading, and index.

Patent is a master at engaging her readers as she combines scientific information with examples of dogs at work. Pair Super Sniffers with another book by Patent, Dogs on Duty: soldiers best friends on the battlefield and beyond and Sniffer Dogs: how dogs (and their noses) save the world by Nancy F. Castaldo.