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'Good dog!' Puppy digs up 13,000-year-old artifact in backyard

'Good dog!' Puppy digs up 13,000-year-old artifact in backyard
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'Good dog!' Puppy digs up 13,000-year-old artifact in backyard
One Washington state puppy is being hailed as a very good dog for his historic find.Scout, an 8-month-old male yellow lab, did what dogs do and dug a hole in his family's Whidbey Island backyard.But it's what the dog found he found that's the reason he's making headlines.鈥淚 noticed he was carrying something around in his mouth,鈥� owner Kirk Lacewell told KOMO-TV.Like most owners, Lacewell thought his dog picked up a piece of wood or a rock.But Lacewell said Scout was still carrying around the item the following day.鈥淥n the second day, it made me think, 'This is odd, I wonder what鈥檚 going on with this,'鈥� said Lacewell.He said he wondered what might've been special about what he thought was a rock.After taking the item off of Scout, he cleaned it and determined it looked different than other rocks.鈥淧art of it looked like bone. It looked like bone that had a covering over it and it was partly worn off,鈥� Lacewell said.After sending pictures to experts at the University of Washington鈥檚 Burke Museum, it was determined that the item was a woolly mammoth tooth.The tooth is about 13,000 years old.鈥淚 can鈥檛 remember a time when a dog helped uncover a fossil,鈥� museum spokeswoman Andrea Godinez said.Other mammoth teeth and bones have been found on the island.鈥淨uite a few mammoth teeth and some bones have been found on Whidbey, which is largely composed of Ice Age sediments,鈥� Elizabeth A. Nesbitt, curator of paleontology at Burke Museum, told the South Whidbey Record.鈥淣ice find,鈥� Nesbitt said. 鈥淕ood dog!鈥滿ammoths once lived in what now is Whidbey Island, which is about 30 miles from Seattle.The tooth will remain with Scout and Lacewell, but will sit on a mantle in the living room, where Scout can't reach it.鈥淲e can just look out there and imagine a woolly mammoth,鈥� Lacewell said.

One Washington state puppy is being hailed as a very good dog for his historic find.

Scout, an 8-month-old male yellow lab, did what dogs do and dug a hole in his family's Whidbey Island backyard.

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But it's what the dog found he found that's the reason he's making headlines.

鈥淚 noticed he was carrying something around in his mouth,鈥� owner Kirk Lacewell .

Like most owners, Lacewell thought his dog picked up a piece of wood or a rock.

But Lacewell said Scout was still carrying around the item the following day.

鈥淥n the second day, it made me think, 'This is odd, I wonder what鈥檚 going on with this,'鈥� said Lacewell.

He said he wondered what might've been special about what he thought was a rock.

After taking the item off of Scout, he cleaned it and determined it looked different than other rocks.

鈥淧art of it looked like bone. It looked like bone that had a covering over it and it was partly worn off,鈥� Lacewell said.

After sending pictures to experts at the University of Washington鈥檚 Burke Museum, it was determined that the item was a woolly mammoth tooth.

The tooth is about 13,000 years old.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 remember a time when a dog helped uncover a fossil,鈥� museum spokeswoman Andrea Godinez said.

Other mammoth teeth and bones have been found on the island.

鈥淨uite a few mammoth teeth and some bones have been found on Whidbey, which is largely composed of Ice Age sediments,鈥� Elizabeth A. Nesbitt, curator of paleontology at Burke Museum, .

鈥淣ice find,鈥� Nesbitt said. 鈥淕ood dog!鈥�

Mammoths once lived in what now is Whidbey Island, which is about 30 miles from Seattle.

The tooth will remain with Scout and Lacewell, but will sit on a mantle in the living room, where Scout can't reach it.

鈥淲e can just look out there and imagine a woolly mammoth,鈥� Lacewell said.