A heartwarming new film is shining a light on smart dogs who can sniff out diseases.
A Dog’s Journey was released last week, with one character surviving cancer thanks to an early diagnosis from pup Bailey.
The scenes were welcomed by Dr Claire Guest, co-founder of Medical Detection Dogs, who also owes her life to her pet’s nose.
She said: “Some of the scenes were so personal, reminding me how fortunate I was at a painful time in my life to have had the life-saving companionship of my dog Daisy.”
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Dr Guest’s attention was drawn to her cancer in 2009 after her labrador started behaving oddly around her.
Thanks to Daisy, she was treated for breast cancer early – and vowed to help others with her charity.
She said: “As my GP told me, had I come any later for the cancer check-up it might have been too late.
“I remember Daisy nudging me with a pleading look in her eyes and knew that without her I probably wouldn’t be here today. Medical Detection Dogs now has a positive direct impact on the lives of many. It is peer-reviewed scientific research that has transformed the futures of many suffering from diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
“I’d like to thank the producers of A Dog’s Journey for their wonderful depiction of the benefits dogs can provide us at key stages in our lives.”
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Daisy’s niece Florin, who is five, also has the ability to detect cancer.
Now Florin’s cousins Belle and Tala are set to join her after completing their cancer detection training.
Medical Detection Dogs, entirely supported by public donations, trains specialist dogs to detect the smell of human diseases, including Parkinson’s and malaria.
The pups work with NHS Trusts and universities around the globe to help with early diagnosis.
It also provides life-saving medical alert assistance dogs to people with complex health problems such as Type1 diabetes, heart issues and Addison’s disease, an adrenaline disorder that can cause blackouts.
