Hot stuff in the medical world

The young Labrador Retriever stood out as part of a litter of eight pups born at Battersea, after his mum ended up in the charity’s care.

Staff at the London centre immediately spotted the special pup had all the attributes needed to become a doggy superhero.

And now the clever canine is set to become a lifesaver as the latest recruit to join the charity Medical Detection Dogs (MDD).

Over the next two years, he will become either a Medical Alert Assistance Dog - trained to detect dangerous changes in people with conditions including diabetes, or a Bio Detection Dog - taught to sniff out diseases including cancers and Parkinson’s.

And it’s made possible with the help of players of People’s Postcode Lottery, who over the years have raised millions of pounds for both Battersea and MDD.

Just weeks into his training, Chilli has already impressed the Medical Detection Dogs team with his sniffing skills - and stolen their hearts.

Chris Allen, Head of Canine Supply, Training and Welfare at Medical Detection Dogs, said: “It was love at first sight for the whole team when we met Chilli.

“To think that he found himself homeless - through no fault of his own - and will now go on to do something so amazing is just brilliant.

“He is a sweet, friendly, confident boy - not afraid to explore and investigate - who loves his toys and has learned all his basic cues very quickly.

“He uses his nose a lot and we can hear real deep inhales of breath which is a great sign for his future career.

“Everyone is his new best friend.”

Lucy Carter, Animal Partnerships Officer at Battersea, said: “At Battersea, we work with many different organisations all over the country to provide the best outcome for the dogs and cats that come into our care.

“We've been fortunate over the years to work closely with Medical Detection Dogs, so we thought of them straight away for Chilli, who we felt would be a great fit for one of their programmes.

“He was such a confident boy, always the first to investigate everything and explore his surroundings but we also saw that he was able to relax on his own and stay calm, making him a well-rounded little pup.” 

Medical Detection Dogs was co-founded by scientist Claire Guest, who believes she owes her life to her own dog, Daisy.

Claire visited her GP after her fox red Labrador insistently nudged her breast and stared up into her face as if to alert her something was wrong.

Tests revealed Claire had a difficult to diagnose form of breast cancer, with a tumour buried deep in her breast.

She was left in no doubt her devoted dog saved her life by smelling her cancer.

Sixteen years on, Medical Detection Dogs has placed more than 220 dogs and is at the forefront of research into the fight against cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

The charity teaches dogs to use their amazing sense of smell to detect conditions including bowel cancer and prostate cancer.

Its Bio Detection Dogs are trained in labs using anonymous human samples where they learn to distinguish between positive and negative results.

Their work is helping scientists develop faster, more accurate and non-invasive tests for diagnosing disease, including the development of bio-electric noses and related AI technology.

Medical Alert Assistance Dogs are trained using samples collected from the person they are set to live with - who may have an extreme allergy or suffer from a range of complex health conditions including Type 1 diabetes.

The dogs are taught to recognise the unique odours that suggest their human partner is about to suffer a dangerous episode related to their condition. They give a warning that allows their partner time to take any medication or other action needed to get help and avoid injury.

Chilli is the latest in a line of special recruits to join Medical Detection Dogs from Battersea.

Previous rescue pups who have gone on to become lifesavers include Cocker Spaniel Asher, who was a COVID-19 detection dog, Cocker Spaniel Jasper, who can sniff out a powerful strain of bacterial infection, and Dachshund Iggy, who is a Bio Detection Dog in training.

Chilli is currently living at the home of a puppy socialiser who will work closely with Medical Detection Dogs.

Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have so far raised more than £7million for Battersea and £2.3million for Medical Detection Dogs to help both organisations continue their work.

Chris Allen said: “Everyone at Medical Detection Dogs would like to say a huge thank you to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for everything they make possible.

“We really couldn’t do it without you.”

Battersea’s Lucy Carter added: “On behalf of every dog, cat and human at Battersea we want to say a big thank you to all of the players of People’s Postcode Lottery, who have played a vital role in supporting our work and helping us go all in for the animals who need us.”