© Doug Field/Fairfax NZJune spent 10 minutes using her nose to bury a dead dog found on Oreti Beach, near Invercargill.
Field, who was at Oreti Beach, near Invercargill, was walking his dog June when they came across dead hares and a dead dog.
What happened next was unusual, Field said.
June, ignored the hares, but spent the next 10 minutes using her nose, to flick sand up to bury the dead dog.
''There was quite a reverence in what she did. I've never seen another dog do that before.
''I'd love to hear from an animal behaviour expert to find out if this is common,'' Field said.
Especially using the Nose! There's the reverence and awareness!
Dogs bury excrement with their hind legs. Using the nose shows respect by the dog AND the dog's AWARENESS of the difference.
And frankly, if some requested "animal behaviour expert" says anything to the contrary, well, I'll be polite and say they may claim to know animals, but are no "experts."
R.C.