It is no secret that staging a tour in this pandemic afflicted world is tricky business, but metal giants Metallica and Tool have added a new layer of protection for themselves and their fans, COVID-sniffing dogs. Yep, that's right, dogs!
Specially trained canines are being deployed on the band's tours to detect the virus in attendees and while it might sound a little far-fetched, it is actually based on one of the dog's most valuable instincts. Speaking to Rolling Stone, one of the company's training the talented German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Labrador Retrievers, Bio-Detection K9 explains.
"People say, 'What's that dog doing?'". "It surprises them and they're pessimistic, but if you understand the instincts of a dog's behavior, it makes a lot of sense. Dogs sniff each other to see if that other dog has a virus. We're training them to look for something they'd be interested in anyway."
John Peets of Q Prime Management, who look after Metallica is impressed by the dogs work so far.
"So far, knock on wood, the dogs have been knocking it out of the park, we haven’t had a dog miss anybody."
With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in Australia, it will be interesting to see if any major acts look to add these talented sniffers as they look to be able to return to touring down under.
All of this talk of talented canines sent us on a YouTube deep dive to find this legendary dog metal band, BEELZEBUDDIES.
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