Dogs lend their Paws to the Wildlife Conservation Effort

Of the many roles played by dogs, they can now add conservation to their résumé. Also known as “sniffer dogs,” their talents are rooted in their detection skills, which have been used to search for explosives, drugs, missing people, and forensic evidence. Because of the prolific trade in illegal and endangered animal species and products, many countries are now using sniffer dogs to catch would-be wildlife traffickers.

The United States

Canine service inspectors are on the front lines of this law enforcement, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They inspect declared wildlife shipments and work to intercept smuggled wildlife and other illegal wildlife products such as elephant ivory and rhino horn. They check exports and imports at key points of entry: ocean ports, border crossings, U.S. international airports, international mail facilities, and UPS and FedEx processing centers. They are also being used for conservation efforts pertaining to species such as the desert tortoise in California’s Mojave Desert.

Galapagos Islands

The Grup de Intervención y Rescate (GIR), Equador’s elite police unit, has trained dogs to work in the Galapagos Islands. After arriving in Jan 2009, they received additional training by Unidad de Protección del Medio Ambiente (UPMA), the environmental police. This canine squad curtails wildlife trafficking in the Galapagos by combating sea cucumber and shark fin smuggling.

Africa

Illegal poaching in Africa is now an epidemic. The demand for ivory has resulted in all-time high levels of poaching of elephants and rhinoceros, which are slaughtered for the lucrative tusks by well-trained, well-equipped and well-funded poachers. Rhino poaching alone has increased up to 3,000% since 2007. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, if poaching is not stopped, many of these species could become extinct within our lifetime. The AWF elephant and rhino protection funding to Kenya Wildlife Service supplements its existing Canine Detection Unit. While the unit is small due to resource constraints, its canine handlers and trained sniffer dogs boast a 90% accuracy rate in the detection of elephant ivory and rhino horn smuggled in shipments and luggage at airports and seaports.

China

If you happen to be arriving at an airport in Yunnan, the Chinese province bordering Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar, you could be greeted by several Labrador sniffer dogs. Both the canines and their handlers have undergone rigorous training to identify the most commonly trafficked illegal products, such as rhino horn, ivory, pangolin scales, tiger parts, live turtles and other endangered animals. These dogs were secured through the efforts of Chinese wildlife trade enforcement, through a program that is part of the anti-smuggling Bureau of the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC).

Australia

Detector dog Reggie has been specially trained to sniff out noxious cane toads and boost Australia’s fight against the feral species. Springer spaniels are an ideal breed for cane toad detection because of their acute sense of smell, high energy levels and ability to act on command.

Universities introduce “puppy breaks” for students

The end of semester can be a tough time, with students feeling the crunch of big assignments and cramming for exams. Add to it the lack of sleep, eating badly and more than a few drinks, and it's pretty easy to get stressed out.

Dalhousie University is trying out a new way to fight stress: “Puppies!”

It has created a puppy room to help students cope with the stress of exams and end-of-term assignments. The dogs will be provided by Therapeutic Paws of Canada, a non-profit organization that trains animals to help people with therapeutic or practical needs. 

University of Ottawa also approached Therapeutic Paws Of Canada and brought in Tundra, an 8yr old border collie mix, to the campus to help stressed-out students.

"Just petting a dog will decrease your blood pressure and relieve anxiety. You can be affectionate with them and they’ll be affectionate back. They love attention," said Tundra's owner and fellow student, Audrey Giles.

“Some students said they missed their family dog back home and needed to get a puppy fix. Others had come from an exam and were looking for a distraction,” says McGill student and event coordinator, Amanda Fraser. 

Simon Fraser University (SFU) and University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada are doing something to help students de-stress.

UBC Wellness Center has implemented a program called “Paws for Health” that will run through exam dates. Students can sign up for the program and get 10 minutes to play and cuddle and hang out with Jasmine, the Pawfessional De-Stresser.

SFU Health and Counseling Services is partnering with the Pacific Assistance Dogs Society (PADS) to bring puppies (being trained as service dogs) to campus. You can watch UBC’s resident de-stresser in action here:

Dogs have been helping students de-stress at a number of U.S. schools, as well. 

From Kent State University in Ohio to Macalester College in Minnesota, more and more pooches are around campus during exams to help students relax, according to the Associated Press.

'We had a student who came in and a staff person commented they had never seen that student smile,' said Richelle Reid, a law librarian who started Emory's pet therapy program. 'It has had positive effects, helping them to just have a moment to clear their minds and not have to think about studies, not have to think about books.'

Pups are in counseling centers for students to visit regularly or faculty and staff bring their pets to lift spirits.

Pet-friendly dorms also are popping up where students can bring their dogs or cats from home and at Harvard Medical School and Yale Law School, students can 'rent' pets for some alone time

Dogs take centre stage in pioneering cancer trial

Medical Detection Dogs given permission to launch world’s first breast cancer detection trial.

The charity, which recently won the support of the Duchess of Cornwall, has spent the past 18 months preparing an application to the Buckingham NHS Trust ethics committee for permission to begin the trial, which will use breath samples from volunteers in Buckinghamshire and the olfactory powers of its dogs. The application has now been approved and the trial will be underway soon.

Since its foundation seven years ago, Medical Detection Dogs has trained dogs to detect prostate, renal and bladder cancer in urine samples. It is seen as a world-leader in its field and now advises smaller clinics in Europe, Australia and the USA. Although it’s not been determined exactly what it is the dogs detect, it’s thought that volatile substances emitted by cancerous cells are present in the urine of cancer patients and that these give off an odour perceptible to dogs.

Dr Claire Guest, founder and chief executive of MedicalDetection Dogs, was alerted to her own breast cancer by her dog. She will be principle investigator of the trial and said she hopes to find volatile substances in breath samples collected from breast cancer patients.

"This is such a fascinating area to study,” she said. "It doesn’t seem necessarily logical that breast cancer should lead to volatile substances to be present in breath samples, but we have seen sufficient anecdotal and minor trial evidence to feel confident this is an avenue well worth pursuing. If it works it will revolutionise the way we think about breast cancer. In the long term, we hope to assist scientists to develop E-noses, electronic systems which are able to detect the odour of cancer through cheap, quick, non-invasive tests. If we can prove the principle that breast cancer is detectable on a person’s breath, machines could eventually detect that odour.”

Latest figures from Cancer Research UK revealed that more than 50,000 people a year are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK, and 12,000 will die. Dr Guest said:

"Under current procedures for detecting breast cancer, many women have to wait until they are 50 before they are invited in for their first mammogram. As someone who has had breast cancer significantly younger than that I’m painfully aware that that would have been too long for me to wait before being scanned for the first time. 

After 50, women are invited to have another mammogram every three years. This means a woman could have breast cancer for two years without finding out, by which point the tumour could be well established. The problem is, it’s not good for women to be scanned more regularly than that because of the exposure to radiation. So if we succeed in proving that dogs can detect breast cancer on breath samples, younger women and women such as myself, who have had breast cancer and need regular checks to ensure the tumour has not returned, could simply breathe into a tube and find out safely and quickly their state of health.”

Previous trials carried out by Medical Detection Dogs include a 2004 investigation into the detection of bladder cancer using urine samples, published in the British Medical Journal, and a 2011 study into the same type of cancer but with a larger sample size published in the journal Cancer Biomarkers.

The charity has also been working with renal and prostate samples; in the latter it has achieved 93% reliability compared to the 75% false positive rate of the traditional tests.

In Feb 2014, Medical Detection Dogs were invited to demonstrate their skills to Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at St James’ Palace. Subsequently the Duchess became a patron of the charity, which works with researchers, NHS trusts and universities. 

The Medical Alert Assistance Dogs it trains help individuals with complex medical conditions such as diabetes, and the animals can identify odour changes associated with certain medical events such as a drop in blood sugar level. Currently there are 50 dogs partnered with diabetics in the UK and with more funding this number will increase.

When I grow up I want to become a Medical Alert Dog...just like my mate Molly!

Dog helps boy unlock his Autism - a friend Like Henry

The moving true story of a Golden Retriever named Henry who was adopted into a family with a severely Autistic boy named Dale. The Autism was so severe, Dale stopped speaking to his parents and his tantrums worsened. Dale's breakthrough came through the help and unconditional love of Henry.

This story became a best selling book and then turned into a life-affirming film.

A Friend Like Henry: The Remarkable True Story of an Autistic Boy and the Dog That Unlocked His World - Nuala Gardner

A Friend Like Henry is a mother's heart-warming account of how her little boy conquered his autism with the help of a devoted family dog, a Golden Retriever.

When Jamie and Nuala Gardner chose a puppy for their son, Dale, they weren't an ordinary family choosing an ordinary pet. Dale's autism was so severe that the smallest deviation from his routine could provoke a terrifying tantrum. Family life was almost destroyed by his condition, and his parents spent most of their waking hours trying to break into their son's autistic world and give him the help he so desperately needed. 

But after years of constant effort and slow progress, the Gardners lives were transformed when they welcomed a new member into the family, Henry, a gorgeous golden retriever puppy. The bond between Dale & his dog would change their lives...

After Thomas: 

The movie based on this true story. A British couple struggle to cope with their child's autism until a puppy unlocks his hidden side.

9 year old raises funds to save shelter dogs lives

Most kids want cake and a huge pile of gifts for their big day. But Ethan isn't like most kids. Turning nine he decided that for his birthday, he wanted to raise money to save dogs. “Ethan is an avid dog lover and always has been,” said mum, Lisa.

The Katz family has two rescue dogs: a golden retriever named Fly and a mini golden retriever named Brooklyn, who started off as a foster puppy from City Dogs Rescue, a D.C.-based nonprofit that rescues dogs from overcrowded or high-kill shelters and places them in foster homes. The family fell in love with “Brookie” while fostering her and decided to adopt her last fall.

According to Ethan, the pup was the impetus behind his selfless birthday wish. “Since I started fostering my dog Brooklyn, I came up with the idea to do something off of that,” he told Huff Post.

So Ethan decided that for his birthday he would design and sell T-shirts online for $20, and donate all the funds to City Dogs Rescue. “Every day we would check, like ‘How many shirts have we sold? How many dogs can we save?’” Lisa said.

By his ninth birthday, Ethan had raised $2,640 - enough to save 10 dogs from being put down. City Dogs Rescue expressed their gratitude on their blog, posting:“Thank you Ethan and HAPPY BIRTHDAY from all of us here at City Dogs Rescue!”

The campaign was so successful that at the request of City Dogs Rescue, Ethan and his parents agreed to launch a second one which raised another $4,150.

“Ethan is so excited to see his campaign take off and we are thrilled to help CDR get some national attention for the hard and selfless work that they and their team of volunteers do,” Lisa said.

To support Ethan’s fundraiser for City Dogs Rescue, click here.