Medical Detection Dogs To Be CVS' Charity Of The Year For 2016
8 years ago 
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Medical Detection Dogs, a charity which trains dogs to detect the odour of human disease, has been announced as CVS' Charity of the Year following a staff ballot. It will benefit from fundraising carried out at a practice and individual level during the year with the proceeds presented at CVS' annual conference in October. Medical Alert Assistance Dogs trained by the charity work with children and adults with complex life-threatening illnesses throughout the UK. Its Cancer Detection Dogs, for instance, are working on prostate, renal and bladder and breast cancer studies which the charity believes have the potential to save thousands of lives through the early detection of cancer and other diseases.
Dr Claire Guest, CEO and Director of Operations and Medical Detection Dogs, said: "We are delighted that CVS has chosen us as its Charity of the Year. We receive no government funding and support such as this makes a huge difference and helps us to continue our ground-breaking work." Barry Brackner, Marketing and Commercial Director at CVS, said: "The work of Medical Detection Dogs is inspiring and it was an overwhelming winner in our staff vote. We are all excited to be supporting the charity this year and hope to raise vital funds, as well as helping to boost to promote its life-saving work. Last year teams from across the whole of CVS worked tirelessly to raise over £39,000 for Support Dogs. This year we aim to do even better for Medical Detection Dogs and our fundraising is already underway."
Key to its success is CVS' ability to attract ambitious veterinary staff whilst continuing to invest in the development of their clinical skills and in research to drive the profession forward. It also provides the business support to ensure its diverse range of small animal, large animal and equine practices achieve their full potential. CVS' guiding principles include a commitment to excellence in all aspects of its work and a focus on building long-term relationships with its customers and suppliers. The company works in close partnership with the wider veterinary profession and industry colleagues.
Note to editors:
The charity Medical Detection Dogs was co-founded in 2008 by Dr Claire Guest, a scientist and animal behaviour expert, and Dr John Church, a former orthopaedic surgeon. It is based in Buckinghamshire and works in partnership with researchers, NHS Trusts and universities to train specialist dogs to detect the odour of human disease. It has two main arms: cancer detection dogs and medical alert assistance dogs.
Cancer Detection Dogs are trained to detect the odour of volatiles associated with cancer cells present in urine or breath samples. The cancer dogs have the capacity to provide second line screening for cancers that are currently difficult to diagnose reliably, such as prostate cancer. Two papers produced by the charity in 2004 (BMJ) and 2011 (Cancer Bio mark) have shown dogs to reliably detect bladder cancer. Current research projects include the detection of breast and prostate cancer.
Medical Alert Assistance Dogs are trained to assist individuals managing complex life threatening conditions, such as diabetes, POT’s narcolepsy, Addison’s and severe allergies. The dogs are taught to identify and alert to the odour changes that are associated with certain medical events, for diabetics, a drop in blood sugar level. There are currently over 60 accredited Medical Alert Assistance Dogs partnered across the UK and with more funding this number will increase.
For further information:
Rebecca George
George PR
Tel: 01449 737281/07974 161108
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