Say hello to Max, a 12 year-old golden retriever trained to sniff out human remains.

"Their sense of smell is unbelievable," Max's owner Steve Shanklin said.

When Max detects the smell of human remains for he lies down to let Shanklin know he's found something. Cadaver dogs like Max can be a huge help to law enforcement.

"We do a lot of work with police departments, state police and sheriff departments throughout the state," Shanklin said.

Shanklin uses dried blood and pieces of human bone to train Max. It is a time consuming process, it takes at least a year to train and certify a cadaver dog, but Shanklin feels it is all worth it.

"It is a lot of work but a lot of pleasure too when the dog does good," Shanklin said.

In the field Max's help is often just the first step in giving a family closure. Forensic science has to finish the work Max starts, but if anyone knows of a nose better than Max's, Shanklin has yet to see it.

"If I had a family member missing I'd want all the help I can get," he said.