I Need a Canary

Photo by Rodrigo Chaves on Pexels.com

When odors go unnoticed because you can’t smell anything, there is a chance you or your surroundings may need a good scrubbing.

I often find myself wondering if my weekly shower is not keeping me free of unpleasant whiffs or if my two doglets are leaving doggie smells throughout my house.

I have been known to ask visitors if my place stinks, in case I need to grab a can of some odor-killing spray and douse myself and the rooms in my casa to cover up whatever offensive aroma is permeating the environment.

I was discussing this problem with my sister and brother-in-law when my clever b-i-l suggested I get a canary. It took me a few moments to get the message, but finally I grasped he was indicating when the smells get overwhelming, the sacrificial bird would die. I would then know it is time for a sniff of smelling salts and an emergency visit from a deodorizing service.

Now this sounded like a great idea, but then I realized I would need to find a canary supply source. How many of the sweet yellow birds I would need and how often I would need one would not be known until I learned how quickly they were succumbing to the tainted scents pervading my environment. 

Of course, I could begin raising my own canaries but that solution might prove to be more work than I am willing to undertake. After all, it would take learning how to train a canary to be sensitive to certain aromas. After all, smelling and then dying is different than no air and dying, as canaries and people trapped in an underground mine will do.

Can a bird die from a bad scent? I’ll need to research that question.

Meanwhile, I guess I’ll have to depend on the technique I currently use: if someone comes in and faints, I open windows, spray odor repellent, call a nostril specialist, and find the location of the dead canary.

Not being able to smell does have its challenges.