Training Dogs To Sniff Out Cancer! | SOP Ep. 117 - Dr. Cynthia Otto & Dr. Clara Wilson
6/3/202654 min
Could your dog save another dog’s life just by taking a sniff? The answer is a resounding yes! Join us as we dive into the fascinating world of biomedical olfaction with Dr. Cindy Otto and Dr. Clara Wilson, authors of the groundbreaking paper, Trained Dogs Can Detect the Odor of Hemangiosarcoma in Canine Blood Samples. Hemangiosarcoma—a silent killer that devastates breeds like Labradors, German Shepherds, and Golden Retrievers—is often diagnosed too late. But pioneering work at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center is changing that. Discover how these incredible canines are using their powerful sense of smell to accurately detect the deadly cancer in blood samples, achieving over 70% accuracy and even revealing discrepancies that stumped traditional pathologists. Learn about the intensive training that turns working dogs into life-saving disease detectors, and what this research means for the future of veterinary medicine and early cancer screening.
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All footage is owned by SLA Video Productions.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsAlice Novotny-Jaromin· Host0:00
Welcome to Speaking of Pets. I'm Dr. Alice Novotny-Jaromin, a board certified veterinary dermatologist.
Janet Novotny-King· Host0:06
And I'm not. I'm Janet Novotny-King, the doctor's sister, podcast co-host, pet owner, rescuer, and lover.
Alice Novotny-Jaromin· Host0:12
We're here to provide pet owners with science-based information to help them be the best pet parents they can be.
Janet Novotny-King· Host0:18
Here's today's episode, created just for you and your pets.
Alice Novotny-Jaromin· Host0:22
Hey, everyone. Thanks for tuning in today. Janet, I am so excited about meeting today's guests. Dr. Cindy Otto and Dr. Clara Wilson are both the authors of, I'm gonna read the title, Trained Dogs Can Detect the Odor of Hemangiosarcoma in Canine Blood Samples. And what all that means is they are training dogs to detect cancer in other dogs. And I love that because dogs can detect cancer in us and, and I want dogs to live longer. I wanna find out cancer early in dogs too so we can do something about it. So welcome to the show, Dr. Cindy Otto and Dr. Clara Wilson, and can you tell us a little bit about yourselves and how you came to be doing what you're doing?
Janet Novotny-King· Host1:08
We have a Buckeye. We have a Buckeye over there, I know it.
Cindy Otto· Guest1:12
Go Bucks.
Janet Novotny-King· Host1:13
[laughs] We probably saw each other in the halls 'cause you were '86 grad and I was '89.
Cindy Otto· Guest1:20
I was probably there, absolutely. '08.
Janet Novotny-King· Host1:23
I- '00. [laughs] I was not in those hallways, and I graduated in '81. I was in the business school.
Unknown speaker1:29
[laughs]