Buzz
Dogs possess an extraordinary sense of smell. They have over 100 million sensory receptors in their noses, while humans have only about six million. Moreover, dogs have an additional olfactory system that enables them to detect not just physical odors but also pheromones, human emotions, and even the presence of storms.
Thanks to their remarkable sense of smell, it's no surprise that dogs have been trained for hunting, detecting bombs and drugs, and aiding in search and rescue operations.
However, the 10 dogs featured here managed to detect a far more significant and typically invisible scent in their owners—cancer. They did this well before their human companions were ever diagnosed by a medical expert.
10. Sierra, the Siberian Husky
In 2011, when Stephanie Herfel’s son enlisted in the Air Force, she took in his nine-month-old Siberian Husky puppy, Sierra. Little did she know, Sierra would become an invaluable companion.
In 2013, Sierra began sniffing and nudging Herfel’s abdomen. Initially, Herfel thought the dog was reacting to food that may have spilled on her shirt. However, the substance Sierra detected was serious enough to make the dog curl up and hide in the closet.
Though Herfel had previously felt abdominal pain, a visit to the ER led to a diagnosis of an ovarian cyst, with pain medication prescribed. Still unsettled by Sierra’s odd behavior, Herfel consulted her gynecologist. On November 11, 2013, her doctor confirmed the alarming news—stage 3 ovarian cancer.
Herfel underwent a full hysterectomy, lost her spleen, and continued chemotherapy until April 2014. Tragically, in 2015, Sierra displayed the same behavior again, sensing a recurrence of Herfel’s cancer—this time in her liver. Sierra’s intuition proved accurate once more, as cancer had returned. In 2016, Sierra again detected the cancer’s reappearance.
Stephanie Herfel passed away on July 8, 2021, at the age of 54, after an eight-year battle with ovarian cancer and acute myeloid leukemia. Without Sierra’s extraordinary ability to sense cancer, Herfel may not have had those additional eight precious years with her family.
9. Heidi, the German Shepherd-Lab Mix
Anne Wills’s German Shepherd-Lab mix, Heidi, was a trained search and rescue dog. Although Heidi had already saved countless lives, Wills never anticipated that this heroic dog would ultimately save her own life.
In February 2015, Heidi started showing odd behaviors whenever Wills sat down—refusing to let her get up, scratching her arm, and panting heavily as if anxious. Soon, Heidi began pressing her nose against Wills’s chest, taking deep, steady breaths.
Worried that something was wrong with Heidi, Wills took her to the vet. After a clean bill of health for Heidi, Wills realized that perhaps it was she who was unwell and that Heidi was detecting her condition.
Wills made an appointment with her doctor, and after undergoing a CAT scan, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. She underwent surgery followed by rigorous chemotherapy and radiation treatments, with Heidi loyally by her side. Sadly, Heidi succumbed to cancer on December 24, 2015.
8. Victoria, the Treeing Walker Coonhound
Lauren Gauthier, based in Buffalo, New York, founded Magic’s Mission Beagle and Hound Rescue, an organization dedicated to rescuing dogs from abusive and neglectful environments.
In 2017, Gauthier took in Victoria, a Treeing Walker Coonhound with an infected eye, who had been abandoned by a hunter. Little did Gauthier know, she was not only saving Victoria but would soon be saved by her as well.
In the spring of 2017, Victoria began staring intently at a spot on Gauthier’s face, pressing her nose against what Gauthier thought was just a pimple. Victoria would repeatedly nudge Gauthier’s nose, then sniff the area again. When this behavior continued, Gauthier decided to consult a doctor.
After a biopsy, Gauthier learned that the blemish on her face was actually basal cell carcinoma. Thanks to Victoria’s extraordinary sensitivity and determination, Gauthier was able to detect the skin cancer early and undergo surgery to have it removed.
7. Troy, the Doberman Pinscher
Diane Papazian and her husband Harry already had a fox terrier when, in 2011, Harry persuaded her to bring Troy, a four-month-old Doberman Pinscher, into their home. Despite her allergies, Papazian reluctantly agreed, and they welcomed Troy into the family earlier than planned. Little did she know, Troy's timing was no coincidence.
As the tiny puppy snuggled with the couple in bed, Troy continuously nuzzled Papazian’s left side, triggering an allergic reaction. While scratching the itch, Papazian discovered a lump in her left breast.
Although Papazian had a routine mammogram six months earlier that showed no issues, she contacted her doctor after noticing the lump. It was diagnosed as stage 2 breast cancer. After undergoing a double mastectomy and chemotherapy, she was declared cancer-free, all thanks to the alertness of their new pup.
6. Daisy-May, the West Highland Terrier
In April 2017, 68-year-old Thelly Price noticed her West Highland Terrier, Daisy-May, persistently sniffing around her neck and throat. At first, Price couldn’t identify anything that could explain Daisy-May’s unusual behavior. However, Daisy-May’s nose was dead-on.
On May 17, 2017, Price visited her doctor after discovering a lump in the exact spot where Daisy-May had been sniffing. The doctor initially thought it was a fatty lump, but after being referred to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, Price was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Thankfully, thanks to Daisy-May’s remarkable sense of smell and early detection, Price was able to have surgery without needing radiation or chemotherapy.
5. Kransky, the Miniature Dachshund
In the aftermath of Christmas 2019, Claire Seeber was relaxing on the couch, chatting with her mother, when her “mini-sausage dog,” Kransky, began persistently sniffing a mole on her right calf. While Seeber giggled at the ticklish sensation, Kransky had uncovered something much more serious.
Seeber explained the situation to her mother during their conversation, noting Kransky’s behavior. Her mother, concerned, encouraged Seeber to get checked out. At first, Seeber dismissed her mother’s worries as overreacting, but her mother didn’t relent, pushing Seeber to make an appointment.
When Seeber’s doctor examined the mole, he immediately insisted it be removed and sent for a biopsy. A few days later, the diagnosis was confirmed: a malignant melanoma.
Seeber underwent surgery to remove the surrounding tissue, ensuring all the cancerous cells were gone. Fortunately, the surgery was a success, sparing Seeber from the need for radiation or chemotherapy, and through it all, Kransky stayed by her side.
4. Lola the Chihuahua
About ten days before Christmas 2020, 41-year-old Tess Robison noticed unusual behavior in her chihuahua, Lola. Lola began sniffing Robison’s breath, staring at her with intensity, and acting more clingy than usual. In a frantic attempt to grab Robison’s attention, Lola jumped onto her stomach. Two days later, a lump appeared.
Robison promptly scheduled a visit with her doctor, though the cause of the mass remained uncertain. She was referred to multiple hospitals and, in January 2021, was diagnosed with stage 3 low-grade serous carcinoma, a rare form of ovarian cancer.
In March 2021, Robison underwent a grueling 12-hour surgery, which included a full hysterectomy. However, during the procedure, doctors discovered that the cancer had spread to her bowels. Following the surgery and ongoing chemotherapy treatments, Robison is now on the path to recovery.
3. Buster the Jack Russell Terrier
In the spring of 2014, Mike Wagner from Deering, New Hampshire, was relaxing in bed without a shirt when his dog, Buster, a Jack Russell terrier, placed his head on Wagner’s chest and started nudging him. That’s when Wagner noticed a lump on his chest.
Initially, Wagner didn’t think much of the lump and carried on with his work as a logger for the next few months. However, he started feeling an unusual sensation in his chest every time he moved his arm while working and pulling wood.
Wagner decided to get checked out. He was referred to a breast cancer center, where a biopsy confirmed that he had breast cancer. During surgery to remove the cancer, the doctor discovered that it had spread to Wagner’s lymph nodes.
To eliminate the cancer from his body, Wagner underwent five months of chemotherapy and six months of radiation. His final treatment was completed on October 2, 2015.
2. Bessie the Cairn Terrier
Ron Wain and his partner from Newhall, Yorkshire, adopted their Cairn terrier, Bessie, when she was just 10 months old. But by 2018, after 12 years with the couple, Bessie began acting strangely—constantly watching Wain’s every move, following him around, and even laying on his chest.
Around the same time Bessie’s behavior changed, Wain noticed that he was visiting the restroom more often than usual. Concerned by both Bessie’s odd actions and his own health issues, Wain decided to consult his doctor, where he was diagnosed with bladder cancer.
Unfortunately, Wain’s first surgery failed to remove all the cancer, so he opted for a bacterial treatment using bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a strain of tuberculosis, to treat his non-invasive bladder cancer. Once his treatment was complete, Wain was informed that the cancer had been cleared. At the same time, Bessie returned to her normal behavior and stopped following him around.
1. Broady the Newfoundland
Forty-five-year-old Lucy Gies from Didcot, Oxfordshire, welcomed Broady, a 154-pound Newfoundland, into her home in July 2021 after his previous owners could no longer care for him. Little did Gies know, this ‘gentle giant’ would become a much-needed blessing in her life.
By September 2021, Broady began to exhibit unusual behavior, sniffing and nuzzling Gies’s right armpit every time she sat down. At first, Gies thought it was simply a bid for attention. However, one morning, while taking a shower, she performed a breast exam and discovered a lump in her right armpit.
Gies’s doctor initially thought the lump was hormone-related, but after weeks without any change, she was referred to the hospital for further testing. It was then revealed that Gies had HER-2 positive breast cancer, with additional cancer cells found in her lymph nodes.
In October 2021, Gies began a course of six chemotherapy rounds, followed by a lumpectomy and radiation treatment. She is still undergoing chemotherapy at present.
