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Passing across my screen every day are words like “Kirby Bauer Sensitivities”, “sed rates”, “electrophoresis”, and “immunofluorescence”. I can only scratch the surface of what those words mean. Sure, I can attempt to use them in a sentence, but it would be more like a list of words instead of a cohesive word-string. I’m bound to confuse trichosis with trichocyst causing us all trichinosis. (Did this give you horripilation? I’m proud to know that one.)
Sure, I can find you a fantastic job in the clinical or anatomic lab, secure housing, make travel arrangements, but thank goodness YOU are the one working with human lives at stake! You understand scientific words because know your job in the laboratory.
But how well do you really know labs? And by “labs” of course I’m talking about four legged, floppy eared Labrador retrievers!
Here are five newsworthy (or maybe not) tidbits you may not have known about labs:
- In his confession, serial killer “Son of Sam” David Richard Berkowitz claimed that his neighbor’s black lab was possessed by an ancient demon and commanded him to kill.
- According to Guinness World Records 2015, the first dog to detect diabetic episodes was a lab named Armstrong. He was trained in 2003 to smell the chemical changes that happen during a hypoglycemic episode.
- Tiki, a black Labrador retriever in Pennsylvania, was brought to the veterinarian due to vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. X-rays showed a mass in her stomach and a two-hour exploratory surgery revealed the cause: Tiki had ingested 62 hair bands, eight pairs of underwear, and a bandage. She recovered just fine after surgery.
- The Guinness World Record for the most bottles recycled by a dog belongs to a Labrador in the United Kingdom. Tubby was added to the category “Most bottles recycled by a dog” because on his daily walks he collected and crushed over 26,000 plastic bottles over six years.
- Casey, an elderly yellow lab, ate nearly $500 in cash then three days later — on Thanksgiving no less — pooped out $480 in full bills. Only one $20 bill was lost because the serial number had been chewed into oblivion rendering it unreadable so the bank wouldn’t accept it. How do I know all this? I was the one who returned the fully washed and digested money to the bank. (I challenge you to find me a better reminder to wash your hands after you touch money.)
So thanks for what you do in the laboratory. I’ll stay out of there and continue helping people like you to find lab jobs throughout the United States.
