DOGGY DOCTORS
Sniffing butts and busting criminals aren’t the only ways that dogs are using their valuable noses. Following an unusual case in 1989, whereby a woman was continually pestered by her dog who seemed fixated on a mole that turned out to be malignant, researchers have studied the potential use of dogs in diagnosing diseases, including cancer. Following years of research, it’s now been confirmed that some dogs are indeed able to detect the volatile compounds emitted from certain cancers, either through a person’s breath, sweat, urine or blood. Along with detecting different cancers, studies have shown that dogs are also able to sniff out COVID-19 infections and even lower insulin levels in people with type 1 diabetes. Scientists are still developing a non-invasive canine method to accurately detect diseases, with their focus locked on the identity of the disease-related compounds that dogs are sniffing out.