A 9-year old collie cross named Max smelled the cancer inside her owner’s body before any medical scans could detect it, which saved the owner’s life.
It’s been said countless times that a dog is a man’s best friend, but did you know they can also smell and detect if we’re seriously ill, too? In the video by BBC Earth called “Secret Life of Dogs,” a 9-year old collie cross named Max became depressed when he started detecting the cancer in his owner, Maureen Burns. According to the video, Burns had a lump in her chest, but her last mammogram didn’t show anything, so she didn’t think much of it. However, Max, who normally is full of life, began acting strangely. Max would “touch Maureen’s breast with her nose, and back off so desperately unhappy with such a sad look in his eyes,” claims the owner.
At first, Maureen thought the dog was “fading,” since he was 9-years old, but she linked Max’s behavior to the mammogram so she decided to get a scan and mammogram again, which turned out negative once more. It wasn’t until Maureen underwent a surgical biopsy was the cancer detected. Once the surgery was over, Maureen claims the change in Max was instantaneous and the day she was picked up from the hospital, Max was his “old, hyper-self again.”
The BBC Earth report adds, “dogs watch us all the time and read our body language like a sixth sense. They also smell our bodies for changes. Max smelt cancer in Maureen before any medical scans could pick it up. Dogs do this naturally and can be trained to pick up on tiny volatile chemicals given off by cancerous tumors. They can even be taught to alert diabetics to low blood sugar levels.”
Dogs are truly amazing creatures, but who would’ve thought they can help us medically, too? Chalk another point up as to why it’s a good idea to have dogs for pets.
