It was with great pleasure that Coad’s Green WI president, Linda Willan, introduced Jane Richardson, a volunteer speaking on behalf of the charity, Medical Detection Dogs, whose patron is our current Queen Camilla. 

The charity was founded in 2008 by the chief executive officer, Dr  Claire Guest, who became aware that dogs, with their intense sense of smell, could recognise odours given out by human cancers and that it was possible to train them to identify specific cancers and illnesses through odour, breath or minute samples of urine. 

Lives have been saved by early detection. 

The charity also sponsors and trains Medical Alert Assistance Dogs for those with life-threatening illnesses, who will develop seizures or have no warning symptoms, which the dog will sense ahead of an episode.  

The talk was accompanied by a film illustrating how they were trained and a featured a number of dogs, including Daisy, who had been awarded the Blue Cross Medal for saving over five hundred lives.

The next meeting will be held on August 9 and is the annual summer social. Members and guests will meet at 6.15pm for  a tour of the Lavender Fields at Maders, followed by a buffet at Polhilsa.