Pigs Rooted Out of Truffle-Hunting Business by Sick New Dog Breed

October 11, 1804

RAVENNA—Ravenna has been shaken by the emergence of a dog breed designed specifically to hunt truffles. The Lagotto Romagnolo, a medium-sized, curly-coated dog that began as Italy’s own homegrown fowl retriever, has quickly become the choice animal of trufflers across the peninsula, forcing pigs out of what has historically been a swine-dominated industry. 

“Now that these dumb dogs are hogging all the truffles, I’m finished,” local boar Mario Roccaforte told the Dealer. “I had the sharpest snout of any porker this side of the Fiumi Uniti, but it’s as good as cassoeula now. Fuhgeddaboudit.”

Local Lagotto Lorenzino Matricardi takes a sunnier view on things. “The draining of the wetlands pretty much sank duck hunting–we needed a new niche,” he told The Dealer. “It’s not our fault that our noses are 50,000 times more sensitive than that of a pig!

“Not to mention,” he added conspiratorially, “Pig ears are my favorite treat.”