COVID-19 detecting K-9s part of new initiative to sniff out the virus and prevent outbreaks

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COVID detecting K-9s deployed to Mass. school district

The latest efforts to prevent COVID outbreaks at school are dogs trained to sniff out the virus.

Bristol County, Mass. – K-9 dogs are well known for their ability to detect oncoming seizures, explosive particles, narcotics, and other contraband, but it appears working dogs can learn yet another trick. 

"Huntah" and "Duke," 14-month-old Labrador Retrievers, work weekly across 15 school facilities in Bristol County, Massachusetts, searching and sniffing for the odor that COVID-19 leaves behind.

Bristol County’s Sheriff’s Office is the first in the nation to deploy the COVID-sniffing K-9s in the region.

"It's giving the community a feeling of a little more security and know that at least if my child is going to school or my husband's working in an area, they’re not going to bring home COVID because law enforcement is proactively looking to sanitize where those things might pop up," Thomas M. Hodgson, Sheriff of Bristol County, Massachusetts, tells Fox News.

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K-9 "Huntah" sits to signal his K-9 Handler Paul Douglas that he detected the scent of COVID near a locker. 

Dr. Kenneth Furton, founder of the COVID K-9 detection program at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, spent much of his life researching canine olfaction. He left no time to waste when the pandemic hit in March 2020, measuring a dogs’ reliability to detect COVID with a pure chemical called a universal detection calibrator (UTC).

"So we found on average that the dogs are 97.5% accurate, which is actually higher than PCR tests," says Dr. Furton, who is also the provost at FIU. He believes the COVID K-9 dogs has the potential to expand into other industries that expect large gatherings.

"If you were to have dogs screening people going onto a cruise ship, you would detect whether they have COVID right then, not doing a test days before." He said. "So here you have a great advantage in that regard."

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BarkBox, a pet care company located in Chinatown, New York, gave the FIU program a test run back one week in October 2021 when they were transitioning their employees back to its office, but this time with Beagles.

BarBox employees were welcomed back into their N.Y. office by a group of adorable beagles waiting to screen employees upon entry.  (BarkBox)

"All the employees had to come through one entrance, and they got sniffed by the dogs. It was much more comforting to have extra reaffirmation and the atmosphere was more relaxed those days that the dogs were there," said Stacie Grissom, Director of Content and Communications at BarkBox.

Tara Kohler, the superintendent of Fairhaven School District in Mass., describes the K-9 detection program which was implemented in three of her schools in December 2021 as "a real game-changer" that helps keep the spread of COVID under control.

"It's about not taking down a workforce, not taking down entire classrooms. We have kids to teach, and we have teachers who want to do their job," Kohler said to Fox News. "So to be able to have this additional tool in our toolbox to bring a dog through and to make sure we're doing everything we can, it's just a win-win."

From the library to classrooms, the four-legged duo and their handlers are put to work to ensure no trace of COVID-19 is left uncharted in schools across Bristol County. If a canine makes a "hit," they will sit next to the infected area, even tapping its nose or paw on the spot.

 "We're doing six, seven, eight hits a day," Paul Douglas handler for Huntah and Captain of Bristol County’s Sheriff’s Office K-9 Unit. "Working with these COVID dogs has just been a real highlight of my career." 

"I have two kids. So, I think of them when I go into a school and that we're coming in and making a difference," said Capt. Douglas, who has been working with canines for the past seventeen years. "It's for the children to help stop the spread and see their faces and see the staff, you know how happy they are.

At East Fairhaven Elementary School, Fox News witnessed K-9 Duke detect COVID in 8 areas within the cafeteria, allowing school staffers to decontaminate infected areas such as tables and chairs before lunchtime.

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 "I think we're in a world where kids are afraid, so if you’re a youngster, you've only known school to be masked and scary. So to us, having them see we're doing everything we can to keep them safe, I always think is the best thing you can do," added Kohler.

Parents will be notified by the elementary school if their child was found to be in an area where a K-9 detected COVID. The school also offers a free rapid test onsite.

"If a canine indicates on, let’s say, a locker in a hallway, we will notify the family that there's been a hit, and to just a monitor for symptoms." Says Kohler. 

At East Fairhaven Elementary School, K-9 Officer Teddy Santos shows school staff where K9 Duke picked up the odor of COVID.

"We just suggest you monitor for symptoms. And do you want a COVID test? And if so, we provide a test free of charge. If they don't take the test, they are still allowed to come back to school the next day. It's just a proactive step."

Parents like Heather Lopes are on board with having COVID working dogs at East Fairhaven Elementary School where her son attends school.

"I think it's pretty neat if they can sniff something that could possibly be putting our kids in harm's way or make them ill," Lopes said to Fox News. "I want them to be safe, just like any other parent wants them to be safe." 

Lopes’ son, a 4th grader at East Fairhaven Elementary, is glad to have Huntah and Duke patrolling the hallways at his school.

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"Now I can have recess with friends and have fun with them. But on online school, I can only see them on a little camera. And I can't play with them at all unless I talk," Caleb Lopes said to Fox News. 

With the help of Huntah and Duke, the elementary school can fully operate and keep its doors open to students and staff. 

"I feel good about having the dogs here because in case there's COVID in the school, the cops will know and the principal or other people will tell us, and it will be a lot more safe with the dogs"

Fox News' Perry Chiaramonte contributed reporting to this story.