Mass. Sheriff's Office Adds 1st Law Enforcement COVID-Detecting K9s

DARTMOUTH, MA—At just 10 months old, Duke and Huntah, the new four-legged employees at the Bristol County Sheriff's Office have hit the ground running — and sniffing — to detect COVID-19 in schools, offices and other shared common spaces. The Labrador Retrievers are the first law enforcement K9s in the country trained to sniff COVID-19.

Based on a program created by scientists at the Florida International University's forensic department, COVID K9s have been trained to detect the chemical odor emitted by those who have the virus.

The idea originated in detector dogs that were trained to spot laurel wilt, a fungus that affects avocado trees. Dogs were able to detect the fungus before it affected the trees and started exhibiting symptoms of deterioration. With the rise of COVID-19 cases and new variants, the dogs switched gears in their training.

Born in Buxton, Maine, Duke and Huntah were transported to BCSO for a formal nine-week training course. Captain Paul Douglas along with Lt. Kenneth Almeida and Sgt. William Dillingham led the training from May until late July, with the canines recently graduating as the first COVID-19 detector dogs.

BCSO received N95 masks from Florida International University that were worn by COVID-positive individuals, but decontaminated for safety reasons, that still contained the odor. The masks were cut up into pieces and enclosed in a small pouch, hidden near or under a high-touch area, such as an office CPU. Once the dogs enter the room, they are commanded to "search" and "show me" where COVID-19 could potentially be traced. Once found, the dogs will either sit or face the handler to motion that the odor has been detected in the area. Duke was rewarded with a ball and Huntah enjoyed her hot dog treats.

Duke and Huntah train at least three days per month to keep their skills sharp. On top of regular training, the dogs get exposure when called out to a site to detect the virus. So far, they have participated in seven deployments, two of which resulted in COVID-positive cases: one in an office setting and one in a classroom. Both cases were confirmed.

"I like to go in blind," Douglas said. "You've got to trust your dogs."

The canines are available to all Bristol County schools and buildings, anywhere with COVID-19 concerns to give peace of mind, said BCSO spokesperson Jonathan Darling. The BCSO has close ties with the New Bedford and Fall River fire departments along with the New Bedford Board of Health and New Bedford Police Department, receiving tips on places that request a search.

Darling said the BCSO recently received a phone call from the Boston Marathon requesting the dogs be present for pre-race events that take place in indoor settings.

"The dogs are like a surveillance tool," Darling said.

Dr. Kenneth Furton, a chemistry professor at FIU, has been working with detector dogs and odors from specimens for more than 25 years. He worked on the program for more than six months, including sampling face coverings from locals and dog training. Recently, the researchers published the first peer-reviewed article on the subject.

In the detailed study of COVID K9 accuracy, he found that the dogs had an accuracy between 96 and 99 percent, while most detector dogs are typically at least 90% accurate.

Currently, with the rise of new variants of the virus, there is not enough data to determine the difference in odors. According to Furton, dogs will not detect differences between variants as dogs generalize a scent, similar to grouping multiple strands of cocaine, although detector dogs can be trained to differentiate between multiple types of mold.

In May, dogs were deployed at the South Beach Food and Wine Festival as a way to screen individuals who could potentially carry the virus. Furton said that the dogs are used to detect COVID-19 on surfaces and through individual screenings to alert officials to administer COVID-19 tests on site.

Furton anticipates that this mitigation strategy will aid in the decrease of COVID-19 cases as the world continues to remain open at various stages. For cruise ships, a large breeding ground for COVID-19, he plans for dogs to be used to detect the virus in certain areas of the ship to help stop the spread.

More research continues to be done as there is still insufficient data on a time period of detection. Based on recent data, the dog may alert of traces of COVID-19 either before or after an individual tests positive, so the person could not even be contagious at the beginning and end of contracting the virus but still carry the odor. Currently, researchers are looking into a timeline where the dog will detect the virus, an individual tests positive and follows up with another test three days later to confirm a positive or negative result. Based on this short timeline, researchers will be able to narrow down how quickly the odor is formed and can be detected.

While the accuracy rates are high, BCSO emphasizes that the dogs are not a substitute for a COVID-19 test.

"It's best to think of it as a decontamination tool," Douglas stated in a press release. "The dogs can detect the COVID odor on a counter or table if it was recently touched by a COVID-positive individual, or even detect the odor on a tissue used by someone with COVID."

" Bristol County and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have come so far since the pandemic started last year," Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson stated in a press release. "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."

BCSO anticipates the dogs will be visiting many schools and indoor settings such as nursing homes, senior centers, town halls and public buildings to detect COVID-19 in the coming months.

"Contact us, and we'll be right there," Douglas said.

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