Staff Report
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota showed off its latest tool for screening visitors for COVID-19 at a press conference Wednesday. Meet Buffy, a 2-year-old yellow Labrador retriever from Southeastern Guide Dogs.
Laska Parrow, a trainer from Southeastern Guide Dogs, began training Buffy last July and has been at Doctors Hospital since the end of March.
According to Parrow, the guide dogs in training typically rely primarily on their vision. Buffy tended to use her nose more than her canine peers, so she was selected for a scent detection study.
Dogs in the scent training program are taught to signal when they detect changes in a person’s immune system. In training, the dogs are approximately 95% effective at detecting COVID-19 in a person.
Good girl, Buffy! Sarasota dog sniffs out COVID-19
Suncoast hospital using dogs to Detect COVID-19 By Chase Campbell | April 28, 2021 at 9:51 PM EDT - Updated April 28 at 9:54 PM
SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Meet Buffy - The yellow Labrador thatâs been trained to smell if a person has COVID-19.
Buffyâs been trained for the last four months using inactive samples of the virus to eventually screen people at the Doctorâs Hospital of Sarasota. When guests enter the hospital, Buffy sniffs them. If she detects COVID-19, sheâll lay at their feet and that person will get a rapid test.
COVID-19-sniffing dog adds extra layer of protection at Sarasota hospitalÂ
Kimberly Kuizon reports
SARASOTA, Fla. - COVID-19 screenings have become a regular practice at Doctors Hospital of Sarasota. Now there s an extra tool to help detect the virus. It comes with four legs, a wagging tail and a sensor-packed nose. She loves to smell and sniff things so we just honed in on that unique talent that she has, Laska Parrow, a certified service dog trainer with Southeastern Guide Dogs, explained.
Buffy is a two-year-old yellow Labrador retriever. She trained for nine months with Southeastern Guide Dogs. We trained on many different patients, positive and negative for COVID, said Parrow.
(Tribune News Service) Three days a week, Buffy greets visitors at the entrance to
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota. If they grant permission, she sniffs their feet seeking a whiff of active COVID-19 infection. Few decline the offer when they see the yellow Labrador retriever with a wagging tail. People generally don’t love going to a hospital, said CEO
Robert Meade, but, “Who doesn’t love labs?” Buffy was trained by
Southeastern Guide Dogs as part of a four-dog pilot program for scent detection.
Southeastern Guide Dogs has for years trained the service animals and provided them for free to disabled veterans and people with vision loss. Scent detection, however, was new territory.
COVID-19-sniffing dog on staff at Florida hospital
Buffy the yellow Labrador retriever detects visitors with the coronavirus at Doctorâs Hospital of Sarasota.
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Buffy lays down next to the scent wheel, a tool used by Southeastern Guide Dogs to train her in scent detection. The canisters contain inactivated coronavirus samples. [ Courtesy of Doctors Hospital of Sarasota ]
Updated 5 hours ago
Three days a week, Buffy greets visitors at the entrance to Doctors Hospital of Sarasota. If they grant permission, she sniffs their feet seeking a whiff of active COVID-19 infection.
Few decline the offer when they see the yellow Labrador retriever with a wagging tail. People generally donât love going to a hospital, said CEO Robert Meade, but, âWho doesnât love labs?â