1 Nov 2019The Lindsay Foundation is joining forces with K9MD, Otago University & the Bowel Cancer Foundation Trust to research the development of a screening program that uses dogs as diagnostic experts.
Cancer is currently the number one killer in New Zealand with 9500 people dying each year. Early detection is a critical factor, (Bowel Cancer makes up 3200 of these harrowing statistics) Similar trials conducted worldwide have produced accuracy rates of 95-100%.
As all dog-lovers will testify, these animals are wondrous creatures. It is estimated that the percentage of a dog’s brain devoted to analysing odours is 40 times larger than that of a human. They can detect a teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water – enough to fill two Olympic-sized swimming pools.
This is Levi, he will be the very first puppy in New Zealand to be specifically trained for medical scent detection work with K9MD. The Lindsay’s are currently working on a name for the second dog to be used for this initiative, any suggestions?