My Drug Sniffing Dog Trained Himself

My former dog, Belinda, touchingly greeted human friends. She would delicately place her nose near their lips, sniffing lightly, and then touch her nose to the center of their forehead, the third eye. She then paused for them to get her message that they should bend their head toward her so she could touch the crown. It was her special blessing and Namaste greeting.

My longhaired Chihuahua came to me at winter solstice 2018 from the same Small Dog Rescue that rescued Belinda. I picked him up at the home of the same sponsor in San Rafael, California, who had taken care of Belinda fifteen years before. Read the full story here. Pepito had formerly lived with homeless people in Berkeley, California, who had adopted him after someone dumped him from a car as a puppy.

Pepito loved people, but when he first came to be with me, he was wary of new people who came to the door until he had a good look and sniff of them. He was concerned about their eyes, wondering if people would come who had weird, scary eyes that signaled erratic behavior. Pepito showed me how his person sometimes took him to gatherings where people consumed drugs. He tried to take care of people as best he could. However, when they were unreachable and the situation felt dangerous, he would find a corner where he could safely wait it out. I assured him that people with weird eyes would not come to visit us.



Pepito’s typical greeting, besides affectionate liveliness, was a sniff of people’s mouths and then a thorough sniffing of their eyes if they would let him. He usually checked out my eyes several times a day as I leaned over him to put on his harness and leash to go outside. I felt his relief after he accomplished this ritual. I didn’t ask him why he did that. Like Belinda, I assumed it was his way of connecting.

Years later, after he had gradually released layers of old trust issues and we had both grown so much from our relationship, he revealed why he performed this particular ritual with people. Sniffing the mouth and eyes, particularly the eyes, told him whether people had consumed drugs that made them erratic and unsafe to be near and even whether they would neglect regular care of his needs.

When he had earlier told me about being wary of people with weird eyes, I saw him looking at them and assumed he spotted it with his eyes. I realized his verification of “weirdness” or drug use was carefully sniffing their eyes.

Wow, I had a drug-sniffing dog who trained himself!

After I understood Pepito’s behavior, he felt little need to do the eye sniffing exam. After almost five years of being with me, he could trust that I wouldn’t fail his test. I had also proven that I didn’t allow other people with “weird” eyes to be near us. It was another milestone in our mutual understanding.