Dog Discovers $18,000 Diamond While Sniffing Around A Bush

A springer spaniel named Rosie is a true diamond dog (with apologies to the name of Nicole Kidman's cancan troupe in "Moulin Rouge!" and David Bowie's 1974 record). While on a late December walk in Lincolnshire, U.K., accompanied by fellow pooch Dylan and owner Allan Bell, Rosie sussed out an $18,000 diamond from under a hedgerow. Who's a good girl? It's Rosie.

The 1.14-carat diamond hadn't been squirreled away for any nefarious purpose - the missing gem was simply a promotion gone bad. In August, British jewelry company 77 Diamonds tied a diamond to a weather balloon and set it loose, just 10 miles away from the bush where Rosie found it. The company had planned to send the gem up 100,000 feet and into the social media stratosphere, kicking off a treasure hunt. But when the GPS unit on the package failed, the diamond was deemed lost to the English wilds.

The jewel would have remained missing, too, were it not for Rosie's impressive snout. Bell and his wife, Pat, told the Examiner they plan to sell the diamond and take a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. But Rosie and Dylan won't be left in the lurch. "Both the dogs will get something special," perhaps steaks, Bell said.

Rosie and Dylan's reward aside, there's never a bad time to celebrate a dog's super-keen nose. Canines have an incredible sense of smell, up to 100,000 times more powerful than a human's. In addition to diamonds, dogs have followed their noses to illegal DVDs, bed bugs and orca whale poop.