Dog Daily News

Sable has the best job in the world. (Photo: Susan Tusa, Detroit Free Press)

A lot of dogs are jealous of us canine staffers of Dog Daily News. They think we have great jobs, and except when Zulu starts flipping out on deadline and we have to restrain him from throwing his computer through the window, we really do.

But this morning while perusing the Detroit Free Press, we happened upon a story about a dog named Sable. And suddenly our jobs don’t look so glam anymore.  That’s because Sable truly has the best job in the world: He gets to sniff out sewage for a living.

Yes, dogs, read it and weep. This German shepherd mix gets to spend his days sniffing for illegal sewage connections that dump billions of gallons of watery crud into lakes, rivers, and streams. This bacteria-infested effluent closes beaches, messes up fish, and is generally just very disgusting to most humans.

The usual methods of detecting illegal sewage connections can be very pricey. So some smart person — who is unfortunately no relation to any of us staffers — thought of the idea of training dogs to do the job. And lucky Sable seems to be the big star, snorting his way around Michigan, getting flown to far-flung states, and just having the time of his life doing what any dog would kill to do. He sniffs out poo-ish water, barks when he finds it, and gets lots of pats and rewards for his “efforts.” (Some other dogs apparently do the same job, but they’re not as publicity hungry.)

“In the mornings, he runs to the back room and looks to the hook where his harness is, as if to say, ‘Do we get to do this today?’ ” his person, Scott Raymond, told the newspaper. “He loves to work.”

Scott, we’re sure he loves to work. Do you have to rub our noses in it? Listen, I’ve got a great nose. In fact, I once sniffed out a neighbor’s new baby from five houses away. My people were most impressed and will provide references. Email me if Sable ever gets burned out. I’ll be on the first plane to Michigan.