A few feet underground, treasure is growing. Which will do a better job of finding the treasure—a dog or a pig?

People have sought after the knobby mushrooms called truffles since ancient times. At first, people thought truffles grew in spots where lightning had struck. They thought the mushrooms had supernatural powers and could make the body and soul healthy. People still value truffles for their flavor and scent. In 2014, a 4.16-pound truffle sold for $61,250! You’ll have a hard time finding anything else in a grocery store that costs so much!

As the value increases, more and more people are trying to grow or find truffles, which live on tree roots underground. The growing process takes years. When truffles finally ripen, people can’t find them on their own. A creature has to sniff them out. Often, people use pigs for this. Female pigs can find truffles deep underground. That’s because, to female pigs, the fungi smell a lot like male pigs.

But using pigs causes some problems. Pigs don’t just find the truffles. They eat them too. If you try to snatch the truffle from a pig’s snout, the pig might bite your hand!

Now many people use trained dogs to hunt truffles instead. Unlike pigs, dogs can be taught not to eat the truffles. As an added bonus, dogs love doing the work of truffle hunting. God made them to use their noses. It’s how they “see” the world.