Benefit # 10
Help detect
and treat illness

Help detect and treat illness

Animals have been known to help detect, treat and manage a range of illnesses and injuries. For example, service dogs have been able to help people with rheumatoid arthritis, traumatic brain injury and autism to improve their mobility and increase their independence, helping them to carry out normal daily tasks such as opening cupboards or getting dressed. Dogs have also been used to help soothe Alzheimer’s patients who are prone to emotional flare-ups. Other specially trained dogs have even been trained to sniff out illnesses such as bladder, skin, kidney, and prostate cancer in people.

While there’s no scientific research to suggest that untrained pets can do the same, there is anecdotal evidence from dog owners who’ve reported that their dog helped to catch their cancer early, by pawing and licking at the area where a tumour was hidden beneath the skin. Some dogs also recognise changes in a person’s scent if their blood sugar starts dropping suddenly due to diabetes, and warn their human of impending hypoglycaemia. While not all dogs will do this spontaneously, working dogs can be specially trained to sense a drop in blood sugar.

Did you know?

Our canine friends have over 300 million smell receptors in their noses, compared with a human’s six million, giving them an incredibly powerful sense of smell.