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Paul thinks both of our dogs must be psychic because when we let one out to do their business (which generally results in that same dog wandering into the field to sample one of the horse’s business), the other dog—who might be stretched out on the sofa—suddenly springs to the floor and trots to the front door, somehow ‘knowing’ the other dog has returned.

“She’s not psychic,” I announced, pointing at Poppy and dampening his theory. “She can smell her return.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Paul replied, beginning to rummage in the kitchen before dinner. “Poppy can’t smell through the door.”

“Yes, she can.” I countered, excited to toss out a piece of trivia that hitherto had been useless. “Because dogs are 100,000 times more sensitive to scent than humans.”

“Not through a door.”

“Of course, through a door!” I maintained. “Dogs can find humans under the rubble of buildings—or sniff out bombs or drugs. If they can sniff out a tiny explosive device buried in the ground or in a suitcase, then, of course, they can smell through a door. It’s like their superpower. So when Posey comes back up the steps, particularly with horse poo on her breath, Poppy will snap out of REM sleep and leap to the door to greet her. Although,” I admitted, “it’s probably less about affection and more about wanting to know where she got the poo.”

“Then why do they smell each other as soon as they come in?” Paul wanted to know.

“Well,” I said, feeling like an oracle of orifices having just read it from the American Kennel Club site, “Each dog has a unique smell, er, under their tail, and dogs greet each other that way because they can immediately determine if the other dog is friend or foe by remembering that particular scent. They gather a tremendous amount of information doing it: where that dog’s been, who it met, what it ate—seriously, their rear end is like Google. Anyway,” I yawned, “what’s for dinner?”

Paul took a box of pasta from the pantry.

“Well, I was going to make burritos. But now that I know that every scent they smell is 100,000 times stronger than it is to us…well, let’s not kill them.”