COVID-19 sniffing dogs back at skilled nursing facilities

This is a note from Marin County’s health department.

Last week, a long-term care facility in Marin that was experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak received support from an unusual source – COVID-19 sniffing dogs. This week, they are back! A team of retrievers trained to detect COVID-19 infection helped screen potentially infected residents. The yellow labs (Scarlett and Rizzo) have been trained in a laboratory setting to detect smells specific to COVID-19. During 2021 and 2022 the dogs helped detect COVID-19 infections among students in elementary schools.

Now, for the first time, dogs are being brought into skilled nursing facilities to support COVID-19 detection among individuals at high-risk of serious disease. Staff and residents were delighted to watch the energetic and friendly dogs at work. After the dogs checked them for COVID-19, residents were excited to be able to pet and interact with the sweet canines. 

“Our hope is to get the dogs used to working safely and efficiently in this new environment where they can make a big difference helping with early disease detection in high-risk settings.” Says Dr. Lael Duncan, Deputy Health Officer. “Witnessing the joy they bring to facility staff and residents is a bonus for everyone.”