Queen urges greater use of medical detection dogs for conditions such as cancer

The Queen has called for greater use of “brilliant” medical detection dogs which can diagnose conditions such as cancer and Covid-19.

Camilla was speaking at a reception at Clarence House on Tuesday to mark the 15th anniversary of the charity Medical Detection Dogs (MDD) of which she has been a patron since 2014.

MDD, co-founded by Dr Claire Guest, has trained more than 200 Medical Alert Assistance and Bio Detection Dogs to detect the faintest traces of odour due to medical conditions.

After a demonstration of the dogs’ detection abilities, Camilla said: “I have been a patron for 10 years and the first time I went to visit Claire at Milton Keynes, in a tiny little shed almost, it was Claire and one or two others, there were a lot of sceptics about.

“People thought how on earth can these dogs sniff out all these diseases but as you have seen today, seeing is believing.”

She added: “During Covid, they were completely brilliant. We did demonstrations at Paddington station and other places. Sadly, they weren’t used.

“Maybe in the future, if we have a pandemic or something, they could be used because they have proved how brilliant they are doing it.”

Bio Detection Dogs are trained to detect conditions such as cancers, Parkinson’s, malaria, bacterial infections, and a study in 2022 found the dogs to be 94% accurate at detecting Covid-19.

The Queen, wearing a Fiona Clare navy blue and white dress, cut an anniversary cake to mark the charity’s milestone.

Dr Guest, who is MDD’s chief executive and chief scientific officer, thanked the Queen and King for spreading awareness of early cancer diagnosis and their continued support.

The King is currently having regular treatment at a London hospital after being diagnosed with a form of cancer earlier this year while he was being treated for a benign enlarged prostate.

Dr Guest, who was alerted to her own breast cancer by Daisy the fox red Labrador in 2008, said the Queen’s support had made a real difference to a small charity which still faced scepticism about its work.

“The Queen is such a lover of our work, it is just so wonderful,” she said.

Among the guests who met the Queen was Michelle Sutherland, 36, and her two-year-old medical alert assistance dog, Spring.

Spring who alerts Ms Sutherland before medical emergencies caused by Addison’s disease, a condition where adrenal glands – which produce a natural survival hormone called cortisol – have self-destroyed, meaning her body cannot cope with stress.

“Spring is a life saver,” she said. “He alerts four or five times every day, so he has given my independence back and allows me to live a normal life. Without him, I would not be here now.”

Ms Sutherland added: “I would spend a lot of time in hospital. I was always ringing ambulances and I was off sick for months at a time.

“Spring is completely oblivious that he has given me my life back.”

On the importance of the Queen’s support, she added: “Being patron to the charity and offering her support is incredible and it makes people believe more in the charity, and believe dogs actually do have that ability to detect diseases.”

The Queen also met Demi Mant, 26, accompanied by her four-year-old Labrador, Bear, who is able to detect impending Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) episodes, a condition where heart rate increases very quickly after getting up from sitting or lying down.

“I basically gave up as there was no way forward, I felt like I was constantly losing”, she said of her life before Bear.

“Now I run my own dance school,” she said. “Bear is a very well-loved part of our dance family.”

The Queen watched a demonstration by bio detection dogs Plum and Storm, who detected a urinary tract infection (UTI) from a selection of samples.

UTIs can be complicated and life threatening if left untreated, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly for whom they are the leading cause of hospitalisation.

The Queen greeted Storm, who she had met before, saying “hello Storm, you look very smart on your chair”.

Maggie, a five-month-old puppy in training, was tasked with delivering a gift basket to Camilla, while standard poodle puppy Dasher watched on from the sidelines as part of her socialisation training.

Earlier in the day, the Queen had complimented Dasher on a “smart haircut” and, on seeing Maggie, exclaimed “you’re just a baby!” before telling Dr Guest “she’s doing very well”.

When her big moment arrived, Maggie dropped the basket at the Queen’s feet and carried off a boom microphone from a nearby cameraman.

Fragrance entrepreneur Jo Malone and EastEnders actress Gillian Wright also attended the reception in their capacity as charity ambassadors.