Bristol County in Massachusetts is the first County in the United States to have COVID-19 sniffing K9 dogs. The dogs can sniff out the disease in a similar way the dogs detect drugs or weapons. The K9s began their new job starting July 15, 2021.
Bristol Count Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said “Bristol County and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have come so far since the pandemic started last year,” Hodgson said. “Today, festivals are happening, restaurants are full and concert venues are packed. We’ve made so much progress, and our new COVID-19 detection program is one way the people of Bristol County can stay ahead of the curve.”
The detection program was developed by Florida International University’s (FIU) International Forensic Research Institute. “This is all science,” Bristol County Capt. Paul Douglas. “This program was developed by professors, doctors and scientists at FIU, and we couldn’t be more proud or excited to execute it here in Bristol County.”
Douglas is paired with Huntah, a 9-month-old female black lab, while Officer Theodore Santos will work with Duke, a 9-month-old male golden lab and retriever mix. The dogs were born two weeks apart with the same father and different mothers.
The dogs are available for use at schools, town buildings, non-profits, nursing homes, Councils on Aging, public safety facilities, and medical facilities in Bristol County. COVID detecting dogs were first employed at an airport in Helsinki, Finland. I am glad to see the United States starting to catch up with Europe in employing dogs to sniff out the disease. At the University of Helsinki, researchers found that dogs can identify a Covid-19 case days before a person begins showing symptoms. They even believe dogs are more accurate that available COVID test kits, and the results are instant.