Dog owner reveals 'pick of litter' selected for training programme to sniff out Covid-19
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A two-year-old Nethy Bridge spaniel has been recruited for a programme which could result in a new front in the war against Covid-19.
Bramble’s owner, Carley Timms, revealed her dog had been selected for a project by Medical Detection Dogs, who want to establish whether or not dogs can sniff out the coronavirus.
The charity has already trained dogs to spot the scent of malaria, cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
Carley said: “I gave Medical Detection Dogs the pick of the litter before the Covid-19 outbreak. “I have had quite a few family members who have had various cancers, including my father George (Rae) who not long ago was fighting colorectal cancer. Also, I lost a close friend from the army.
"My grandfather William (Blythe), who we sadly lost to cancer, also had diabetes for quite a few years prior to his death. The charity is absolutely fantastic.
“Our little pup went to them at eight weeks old. They have a no-kennel policy, so the puppies and dogs live with foster families, they continue to live with their families if they go down the bio-detection route.
“It just amazes me how accurate their alerts are. The accuracy rate from the dogs at detecting prostate cancers is unbelievable.”
Bramble was born on June 14, 2018 to working cocker spaniel Bella.
Now the clever canine is in London, where his new handlers said: “Bramble’s is the latest nose to start early training for our #COVID19 detection dogs project. He is an affectionate, busy little spaniel who is always eager to work. He loves a treat, a fuss, and life in general. We’re really excited to see what he can do!”
Medical Detection Dogs is now running trials on the current pandemic virus with Durham University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
Charity boss Dr Claire Guest said it had to find out how to “safely catch the odour of the virus from patients”.
She said: “In principle, we’re sure that dogs could detect Covid-19. If this is proven, the dogs could be used to screen anyone, including those with no symptoms.
“This would be fast, effective and non-invasive and make sure the limited NHS testing resources are only used where they are really needed.”
LSHTM head of disease control Prof James Logan said research showed dogs could detect the odour of malaria infection with a level of accuracy “above the World Health Organisation standards for a diagnostic”.
