This Dog Can Smell Cancer (VIDEO)

They’re our friends and companions, our workout buddies, and playmates, but can dogs be our doctors too? It seems like they just might be a good form of preventative care for allergies or, as the video explains below even cancer.

Dogs have an incredible sense of smell and this ability has allowed dogs to find many undetectable people and objects. So it seems like no surprise they might be able to detect cancer cells as well.

According to ABC News, dogs are currently being trained at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center to help detect specific cancers like ovarian, prostate, bladder, skin, and breast in hopes of increasing early detection and saving lives.

The article states the reason why dogs can smell  cancer is due to the infected cells having certain biomarkers that produce a smell that healthy tissue does not. These biomarkers are similar to how asparagus makes urine smell. Dogs, with their strong sense of smell, can notice these biomarkers.

In the video below, guardian Maureen credits her dog Max for sniffing out her breast cancer. When Maureen developed the cancer, she noticed a radical change in her dog’s behavior. Then after receiving her cancer treatment, he was right back to his usual joyful self the very day she came home from the hospital.

As a heads up of sorts, now Maureen even relies on his reaction before she goes for checkups to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned, stating, “If he’s happy and wagging his tail, then I’m happy and I know I’m going to be ok.”

Who could ask for a better companionship than that?!