Rico was going to be euthanized in a few days. He was in his kennel. Unmoving.

He wasn’t making a fuss the way hopeful dogs do when visitors come. It was almost like he knew. He was not long for this world.

That’s when Rachel happened.

“I saw this picture online of this really cute black and tan dog… and they said he had two days left to live. I paid the fee to get him out of the pound, but they hadn’t found him a home, [so] I ended up paying and bringing him over.”

She paid an adoption fee, then paid to have him delivered to her home in the UK. A trans-Atlantic pet delivery fee, Rachel discovered, costs about as much as purchasing a four-bedroom-two-bath beachfront condominium.

But Rico was worth it. He was sweet. And happy. Some dogs are just born happy. And by “some dogs,” I mean “all dogs.”

One day, however, Rachel discovered Rico’s remarkably unique ability. Rico, it turned out, could sniff like a mother.

“He was REALLY good at [tracking]. It was like hide and seek where they sniff you out.”

Rachel worked with Rico to develop his olfactorial talents. His powerful nose was soon stunning small audiences consisting mostly of Rachel’s friends. Rico was great at dinner parties.

But one day, the trajectory of Rachel’s life changed. Rico’s incredible nose became more than just a parlor trick.

Rachel and Rico were walking through a parking lot. There was a family gathered outside their car, and everyone was weeping. Turned out their dog was missing.

“My friend suggested Rico try and help them, so we let him sniff… the car to get the lost dog’s scent. We searched for about three hours and he kept going to the same location…”

Rico found the missing dog.

“I’ve never been so proud,” said Rachel.

That first rescue turned out to be the beginning of a new career for the duo. People started calling Rachel, asking if Rico could track their lost pets.

And that’s precisely what he’d do. Rachel would give Rico a blanket to smell, or a chew toy, Rico would familiarize himself with the scent, then get down to business.

And he wasn’t just searching for house pets and lap dogs, either. People from all over the known universe call Rico, with all sorts of tracking needs.

“We got a request for a [lost] tortoise the other week…”

Once, the local zoo called. Their capybara went missing. A capybara—for those who don’t know—is the world’s largest rodent. The animal looks like a cross between Stuart Little and a Budweiser Clydesdale.

But there was a problem: The capybara, named Cinnamon, had been missing for days, so there was no fresh scent to follow.

“Obviously,” said Rachel, “it makes it harder without a fresh trail…”

So the zoo brought Rico capybara droppings from the Cinnamon’s family members.

Yes. You read that correct. Rico would be searching for the animal, not using the missing animal’s own scent, but by using the scent of its FAMILY MEMBERS’ Numero Dos.

“I was worried…” said Rachel.

Rico led the search team through a livestock pasture. For three hours, he searched, finally directing rescuers to a ditch where they found capybara droppings.

Zookeepers put out a trap; the missing animal was caught a day later.

Today, Rico is a 10-year-old. He has been part of many, many rescues. Too many to list here.

Amazingly, Rico will retire next year. But the canine hero has a message for any humans who might be reading this:

Life is short. You cannot buy love. But you can always adopt it.