Quick- how many science dogs can you name? There's Laika, and, uh, maybe Balto, and... Dogs have been involved in science for a long time, not only as experimental subjects, but also in the work that they do. In the case of a dog named Robot, he was just acting as dogs do, but made quite an important discovery.
The caves at Lascaux in southwestern France are famous for containing some of the most detailed and well-preserved examples of prehistoric art in the world. More than 600 paintings created by generations of early humans line the cave walls. But if it wasn’t for a white mutt named “Robot” who, by some accounts discovered the caves in 1940, we may not have known about the art until many years later. Marcel Ravidat, at the time an 18-year-old mechanic’s apprentice, was out walking with Robot when the dog apparently slipped down a foxhole. When Ravidat followed Robot’s muffled barks, he recovered more than just the dog—Robot had led him to one of the biggest archaeological finds of the 20th century.
That's a good dog. Read about other dogs who have been important to science at Smithsonian.
(Image credit: Pilleybianchi)