01/06/2026
🐾👃 Celebrating Q - The Sweetest Little Sniffer 🌈
In the world of nose work, it's rare to find a dog as small, floofy, smart, and sweet as Q. But rarity was Q's specialty—from his rescue story to his gentle spirit to the way he welcomed everyone into his heart.
I met Q's human, Carly, nearly 10 years ago as a fellow dog training colleague. Shortly after we met, she opened her heart and home to Q after his brief stint at MADACC. He landed in the jackpot home with Carly and her husband.
When Carly got interested in nose work with Q, she didn't just dabble—she dove in. She volunteered at my Murder Mystery Sniffer in February 2020 and never looked back. Carly and Q became fixtures at my Sniff-n-Gos, took lessons, classes, and eventually dove into their ORT tests—all while maintaining a dog-first mindset. Team Q earned their ORT title after making "birch their bitch," then continued training hard for their NW1 trial.
To my absolute delight, Carly and I both entered an NW1 trial in September 2024 and both got draw spots. We parked next to each other, anxiously awaiting each other's return after each search. After the final search, there she was with Q in her arms and a HUGE smile on her face. She gave me the thumbs up. YESSSSSS! Go, go, go, Team Q - NW1 BABY!
Dearest, Q... I'm just as pi**ed as your mom that you'll never get to trial at NW2, though we all know you were more than ready. I'm more pi**ed you were taken many years too soon. Yet I find solace in the amazing world you opened up for your mom, your friends (Ernie and Betty White adored you), and so many others.
I'm grateful I got to offer you one last sniff last week, where you proved - once again - containers are kinda ridiculous, all while strutting your stuff to find birch, anise, and clove one last time.
Thank you, Q, for teaching us that "the littles" are badass search dogs. Thank you for being the perfect you. And thank you, Carly, for sharing him with so many of us.
Run free in odor, sweet Q.
