This Very Good Boy Is First Line Of Defence At The Boston Museum Of Fine Arts
The newest volunteer at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts will be responsible for detecting pests that could damage the museum’s extensive collection. He also likes boops, belly rubs and treats.
[related_articles]68231,65536,64392[/related_articles]Riley the weimaraner has one hell of a nose, and it’ll be put to good use, sniffing out insects and other havoc-wreaking pests that could piggyback their way into the museum on the back of new acquisitions or visitors.
“We have lots of things that bring, by their very nature, bugs or pests with them. If he can be trained to sit down in front of an object that he smells a bug in, that we can’t smell or see, then we could take that object, inspect it, and figure out what’s going on – that would be remarkable in terms of preserving objects,” Boston Museum of Fine Arts Chief Brand Officer Kate Getchell told the Boston Globe.
[related_articles]53565,56675[/related_articles]While he’s still in the training phase, Riley was the first floppy-eared employee of his kind at the museum, or anywhere for that matter. If the program’s successful – and we have no doubt that it will be, because Riley’s a Very Good Boy – pest-detection pups could pop up in museums and libraries all over the world.
Riley won’t necessarily be seen wandering the museum’s corridors but, museum staff are already figuring out how they can connect Riley with his fans when he’s off-duty – that could mean regular meet-and-greets or his own Instagram account.
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Riley has been such a hit he now has his own merch line, so you can take a little bit of the Good Boi home with y0u.
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“The staff are overwhelmed by the excitement to see and meet him. We don’t want to deprive the public of that,” Getchell told the New York Times. And, honestly, same.
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