About Us:

Medical Detection Dogs is a charity co-founded in 2008 by a team including Dr Claire Guest, a scientist and animal behaviour expert, and Dr John Church, a former orthopaedic surgeon.

The charity 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: bio detection dogs and medical alert dogs.

The Bio Detection Dogs are trained to detect the minute odours associated with may cancers and other diseases to assist with early diagnosis. This pioneering work could help scientists and medics develop faster, cheaper, non-invasive methods of diagnosis that could impact upon thousands of lives.

We are continuing studies into colorectal and prostate cancers and are exploring the dogs’ ability to detect several other cancers and diseases including: Parkinson’s disease, malaria, bacteria and animal cancers.

The Medical Alert Assistance Dogs are trained to assist individuals who manage complex medical conditions, such as diabetes, on a day-to-day basis. The dogs are taught to identify the odour changes that are emitted prior to an emergency and alert the person to take preventative action.

Our dogs are currently working with people with: Type 1 diabetes, Addisons disease, PoTS, pain seizures and severe allergies.

The charity receives no government funding and relies entirely on charitable donations. EVERY PENNY counts towards the training of another specialist dog.

Thank you so much for your support, and we hope you win a fabulous prize on the Vale Lottery.