Or this?
Or a combo?
Posted on 11/19/2016 8:52:20 PM PST by nickcarraway
We've heard countless stories of how dogs have sniffed out danger and saved lives. Now two Alabama women will train dogs to sniff out cancer.
The two women, Cindy Roberts and Dr. Laurie Malone, recently spent time in California learning the necessary science and training methods. Roberts has a background in dog training and Dr. Malone in research. They believe their combined experience will be perfect for training dogs and adding to the evidence and research for the cancer detection field.
ABC33/40 caught up with the women at the Barking at the Moon Festival in Fultondale Sunday. Dozens of dogs were at the festival dressed in costume. Roberts and Malone said any one of them could be trained to smell cancer.
"There's no doubt that a dog's nose that is sharper than a human's nose is perfect for this," said Roberts.
The women are now certified medical scent detection dog trainers. They said they are just two out of eight people in the nation who will be receiving the certification right now.
To teach the dogs they'll present them with cancer samples. They could be blood or plasma. "We train the dogs to sniff on those then we slowly add in scents from healthy people, people with benign tumors and the dogs learn to associate the cancer smell with the positive samples," said Roberts.
Training dogs to detect cancer is personal for Roberts. "I lost my mom to lung cancer. She had breast cancer and within about two years developed lung cancer. She was diagnosed on a Tuesday and passed away on the following Monday... I knew this was something I had to become involved with so other people would hopefully have a chance to have more time with their loved ones than we had."
Roberts and Dr. Malone said canines can detect cancer earlier and more accurately than machines so they're excited to start training dogs in Alabama.
The women said they will start by training their own dogs to detect cancer then will open up the training to other dogs. They said it takes between six and nine months to train a dog to smell cancer.
Click here to learn more about the training.
Cats can smell I think up to 5000 times stronger than humans.
Some dogs it’s 100k!!!! Almost unfathomable.
I had a really bad bruise that scabbed up and at LEAST 5 weeks after it scabbed, my cat would sniff it and make this scrunched up sick face like he was gonna throw up.
There was nothing to smell. It was an old scab. I didn’t smell a thing. I guess he smelled healing still going on under the skin.
This could be VERY helpful to cancer patients and who knows who else. Likely detecting infections.
Perhaps it is also why cats will lay with a person in a nursing home frequently when they are close to death.
Unless that’s an old wive’s tale.
Perhaps they smell the cancer or infection or whatnot spreading very quickly at that point.
Our dearly departed dog seemed to have this ability...long story. But, she stuck close to some people who didn’t particularly care about dogs....they ended up having prostate cancer
This will bring a whole new meaning to Lab results!
Good Lord!!
Well 100k times is STAGGERING!
One would expect they could smell through the skin.
Sorry about the folk who fell ill.
And for losing your buddy.
My father lived in the Pioneer Home in Palmer. There was a dog there known as the Dog of Death. He knew who was about to go and would lay next to them. So if he jumped into your bed, you knew this was your night to go. The night my father died I was told to get there as soon as possible. I got there about two minutes after he died. And there was that dog laying next to him.
Or this?
Or a combo?
I tripped and fell on my dog’s leash when she ran very quickly. It was an outdoor leash; I got tangled up in it and fell. I scraped my knee. And she constantly wanted to lick my knee.
Even now weeks later she still sniffs at it.
I take her out on the porch in the afternoon and she just sits and smells the wind. She really loves it it’s amazing.
I don’t smell anything. LOL!
Animals are amazing creatures!
But I have read about people using animals to diagnose cancer. And it seems to be very promising.
they are incredibly amazing.
The size of our brains aids in creating wonderful and helpful (and dangerous) things.
But many animals clock us in many other areas of natural assets.
Sense of smell, speed, the ability to survive quite a while without a head!! (cockroaches) :)
*buh-dump-chhhhh*
Good one! :)
LOL!
I have a black Lab, Ellie, three years old. My husband and I also had a black Lab, Claudius, for many years. We used to hike in the mountains of Colorado with Claudius and he loved it. They are great dogs.
Our family had a golden retriever when I was a teen. She was called Buffy. I taught her to go fetch the paper at the end of the driveway. And as my parents get older they really appreciated that!
Anyway companion animals are great. :-)
They do so much good. With the police, the military, search and rescue. They really are man’s best friend. :)
My ####ing cat dashes out of the room if a pin drops.
Worthless creature.
Just kidding :)
He was my sole companionship during a VERY long TBI recovery.
Couldn’t have taken care of a dog.
He’s my little buddy but dogs are in a class by themselves.
Loyal past all boundaries. Like they were made to be our right hand pals.
I’m so glad you had an animal friend to help you through your recovery.
I used to watch a show called Pet Heroes on the Discovery Channel and they had one episode where a cat saved her owner’s life because she could sense or smell that her insulin levels were wrong.
My daughter really wants a cat; so do I. But my husband is allergic.
Anyway, I hope you’re feeling better. :-)
I dont know why i always automatically assume a person is a man on this board :)
Some of the posts you’ve made sounded a bit effeminate for a guy to post, but i dont judge.
NOW it makes sense! :)
Nice to meet ya! How old is your daughter?
Yeah, he’s my little buddy.
We had a cat that gagged like this when he smelled mustard. We named him MC (Mustard Cat).
Yes, I’m a woman; 54 (ugh!!!). Our son is 21 and our daughter is 17.
It’s great to watch them grow up... but we get older too! :(
Nice to meet you too! :)
that’s great :)
Yeah, getting older sucks!
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