Dogs Can Now Sniff Out Covid

Dogs are kind of amazing.  I grew up with both cats and dogs as pets and there are some definite pros and cons to each of them.  But I do prefer dogs just because they are just so obviously happy with  unconditional love, generally. Cats can also be like that, but its generally on their terms.

We've known for years that dogs can sniff out sicknesses, especially when it comes to cancer.  I watched a 'Dogs Journey' on a flight back here from Vegas. I was concerned that I would be a blubbering mess on the flight, but it really was ok.  Great movie.  But there is a scene where the dog figures out how to sniff out cancer.  It's a very touching scene with some humor mixed in.

Now, apparently it has been discovered that man's best friend can sniff out a person who has COVID-19.  This study was done in Germany and tested people's saliva.  Apparently a person infected with the coronavirus will give off a different scent than someone who doesn't have the virus.

“We think that the dogs are able to detect a specific smell of the metabolic changes that occur in those patients,” Maren von Koeckritz-Blickwede, a professor at the university who conducted the study, said in a Youtube video about the experiment.

Now I feel like any time a dog wants to be near someone... maybe they are infected with something.  Hopefully not, but it's something that I know I will think about each time a dog sniffs me...which they tend to do with everyone.  The dog's sniffer is about 94% accurate.  That's pretty accurate.  Maybe this would be less invasive as the test that is normally given.  It's a thought...