Museum of Fine Arts hires puppy to detect pests

The Museum of Fine Arts acquired a Weimaraner puppy to detect insects and other pests in the museum that potentially could damage or harm its collections, according to The Boston Globe.

Riley, the new furry team member, will begin extensive scent training in the next few months. She is owned by The museum’s head of Protective Services.

“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,” Katie Getchell, chief brand officer and deputy director of the Museum of Fine Arts, tells The Boston Globe.

The museum representatives hope Riley succeeds so that other museums and libraries could follow suit and have another resource to protect their valuable resources.