Can Dogs Smell Cancer?
“A young dog’s faith is absolute… Dogs are notorious for hope. Dogs believe that this morning, this very morning, may begin a day of fascination, easily grander than any day in the past.” — Donald McCaig
If humankind truly ever had a friend it would be the canine, almost half of American households own one. This formerly wild beast has been domesticated for nearly 32,000 years to an obedient servant and friend to their two-legged caretakers. Despite our love with technology and the ability it provides our species, this simple kind animal has incredible powers that can dwarf a machine’s ability. You may see this beast as a simple companion, but our species has adopted the dog for more than just their friendship.
In a recent development, a nonprofit organization named Medical Detection Dogs has been training dogs to detect cancer. I’ll let that sink in for a minute before I continue. Yes, this organization believes that the dogs they are training can detect cancer. They have a number of dogs they are using to smell out the cancer in various biological samples. Believe it or not, they have some firm evidence based in science and medical testing to back that up.
