Kefir-Beer, a Dog Retiree, and a Grave Competition

In this week's Odder News, a famous dog cop retires, scientists work on stuff we actually care about, and the Russian post releases a set of stamps for the road.

• The only corgi in Russia's police force, a bomb-sniffing transport police dog named "Рыжий" (Redhead), has retired at age 9, after 7.5 years of serving the city of Nizhny Novgorod. Which means we're much less likely to commit a crime in Russia now, knowing that the chances of us being chased down by a cute li'l guy with big ears and tiny legs is slim.
• A competition for speed-digging graves is set to go forward in Omsk, as part of an annual convention of the mortuary industry. Besides the competition, guests can browse an exhibition and see professional drivers show off the technical capabilities of hearses.
• Scientists in St. Petersburg are hard at work creating a "beer with the properties of kefir." The new libation would include a digestive type of yeast, similar to the bacteria in kefir, that would address stomach ailments while also providing a great reason to crack open a cold one.
• A recent study demonstrates that a full third (32%) of Russian millennials are scared of mortgages, which is, perhaps, less surprising than it should be given the proliferation of millennials taking on mortgages stateside.
• Good news for the philatelists (and urban planners) in your life: a new set of Russian postal stamps has just been released, honoring especially safe and high-quality roads throughout the country. We're hoping some of our favorites made the cut.