National Pet Day: Pets That 'Diagnose' Health Problems

Your furry friend can be taught to roll over, fetch, go in her litter box, chirp your favorite song -- but pets can also be trained to detect serious illnesses, often helping their owners get critical care fast.

Unlike Paul The Octopus, the miraculous mollusk that predicted a number of World Cup soccer game outcomes seemingly by ESP, pets probably have some harder evidence to go on. While animal behavior experts still don't know much about the exact process, it's likely that animals "diagnose" by detecting subtle changes in smells given off by chemicals in the body when disease is present.

In honor of National Pet Day, take a look at the life-saving pets below, and tell us in the comments if you've ever had a pet "diagnose" you.

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Comments

[Jennifer Burrhus]

10:17 PM on 06/01/2012

I have a Standard Poodle puppy that alerts to my "attacks" so I know when to go find a safe place to sit and take some medication. My cat does this as well. My cat will either pull my hair or climb on my lap, grab my face between his paws and lick my face all over. The dog will walk over, sit on my feet and lean against me with all his weight.

I got the Poodle puppy to train to be a mobility service dog and to help with my agoraphobia. I have been house-bound for a while and can only go out when I am accompanied by my fiance because I never know when an attack will hit and I need him there to support me. Now I can go for walks on my own and can be independent because my little boy can tell me when I am going to get sick! I've only had him a week and he is already indispensable. In such a short time he has changed my life for the better and given me freedom!

[humor mee]

11:13 PM on 04/13/2012

I have a dog I adopted with the original intention of training as a mobility Service Dog. By 10 months old, she was alerting me to my post-traumatic migraines from a car accident 20 years ago. I have probably had 20 dogs in that 20 years and none of those dogs have been able to alert to them before. She can give me about a 20 minute head-start to take my medicine which is very helpful and she still isn't old enough to do her mobility work yet.

The dog that used to live next to my aunt was a very sweet dog. My aunt used to dog-sit during the day while the owners were at work. One day, the dog started barking and growling at the postman. A couple weeks later the postman was diagnosed with cancer. When the dog suddenly started barking and growling at the UPS driver, nobody wanted to think the worst, but it was a small enough town that everybody knew everybody and the word got around that she had been diagnosed with cancer too! A couple years later the family moved, so we never heard if there were any more incidences, but I honestly think that the dog should have had her behavior shaped and given a job while the owners were at work.

[lizp33558]

04:14 AM on 04/15/2012

Wow, what a story.

[jenraulerson]

07:50 PM on 04/13/2012

Maybe if they lower the amount of insulint in her shots her blood sugar would not be so low as diabetics have HIGH BLOOD SUGAR. I know because when I was 16 I use to sit for a 7 year old who had type one. His step mother OD him on insinlit and he died at 7. THEN SHE GOT A LARGE SETTLEMENT ON HIS DEATH AND BLAMED THE HOSPITAL IN THE ER. I felt so sorry for his real mother who lost him in the divorce.

[lthrnck68]

07:41 PM on 04/13/2012

This is nothing new or amazing. It's been known for decades that animals can sense all sorts of illnesses. It is only recently that it is getting the publicity that it has always deserved.

[pmusicinharmony]

07:38 PM on 04/13/2012

My dog would lay on my grandmothers neck all the time often pushing pressure on it, they found thyroid cancer. It was found so early that she was able to have a full recovery. The doctors said they rarely ever find the thyroid cancer that early and she was very lucky. The dog died shortly after from a seizure disorder. She is missed very much.

[doodlewhopper12]

07:13 PM on 04/13/2012

I had a Black Lab who knew when I was about to have a heart attack......wouldn't leave my side for 2 days prior to it happening........too bad that he chewed a hole through a chain-link fence and the dog catchers got him and put him asleep.

[noodles865]

07:02 PM on 04/13/2012

I had to vote the highest rank to the rectal cancer sniffing dog I was however disappointed to know they don't smell the body since my dog has a proclivity for doing that very thing,I was just trying to give an excuse for his humiliating habit and a chance to make him work for his dinner,while justifying the snout which is so often tucked directly between the checks of everyone he meets.

[lizp33558]

04:15 AM on 04/15/2012

interesting.

[noodles865]

03:49 PM on 04/15/2012

Obvious he thinks so..:-)

[stru249]

06:35 PM on 04/13/2012

dogs are the best, put mike vick back in jail.

[Mshollywooddog]

06:07 PM on 04/13/2012

Animals provide so much support, assistance and therapy. They are God's little angels!

[snoogans460]

06:35 PM on 04/13/2012

I agree. Humans have a lot to learn from animals and I TRULY believe we underestimate their intelligence.

Just because they can't verbally communicate with words or reason in the same way people do, they CONTINUALLY provide an unconditional love that is lacking in the general human population.

Back in the day, I had my pet cat live for over 20 years (two whole decades), and was nearly the same age as myself when she died. Needless to say, it was like losing a family member... especially since we shared an INCREDIBLY special connection with each other.

Nowadays, I spend time with my 2 dogs who help fill that void of loneliness and companionship. Funny how these creatures NEVER hold a grudge and DON'T EVER judge.

[noodles865]

07:26 PM on 04/13/2012

I have to add to your comment.I had seen a vid.of a dog who's pup had gone into the pool and owner was filming the pups first swim,the pup got tired momma came out from the side jumped in,pushed him with snout to the edge when he couldn't make it out without prompting from owner got out grabbed him by his scruff and dragged him out and farrrr away from the pool.I said wow what a capable smart cookie mom was no help needed nor looked for from owner.I got slammed,people were yelling how could you think that the owner was abusive..I had to say yes if it were my babies,in the pool I get camera and all.my point was she didn't need him she figured it out by herself,every move all without any prompting or training she was amazing.we underestimate them all the time many can be abused horribly by a human and taken away and shown some love will fall in love with that new owner,they have an amazing capacity for strength,intelligence and love all of which so many miss.I am however sitting next to a yellow lab on a couch who has allowed a cockatoo to fall in love with him,sitting on his head attempting to mate with the dogs ears..but that's just fenway,dumb as a box of rocks or not they are our hero's whether we know it or not.

[Mshollywooddog]

08:22 PM on 04/13/2012

Thank you for the lovely post, it is always special and precious to hear of the experiences and connections others have with their little furry friends.

[Morgan378]

05:56 PM on 04/13/2012

I remember when my friend's Westie "learned a new trick". She'd put her snout in her open mouth. He'd "punch" her hard in the mouth with his snout and she took it to mean he wanted to do his "trick". A smoker for decades, developing a hacking cough - I had suggested - without regard to this new "trick" - for her to go in for a check-up since she hadn't had one since having to take one before starting her present job some 6 yrs ago. Just a couple of GYN visits is all. Not a full check-up. Going to her doctor her chest x-ray came back with a LLL shadow. Biopsy was done and while malignant it was a small cell carcinoma non-aggressive. The lobe was excised and it's been 2 yrs without recurrence. Her Westie passed away. But if it was known at the time what this new "behavior" could mean - that it wasn't a "trick", but a signal - and although it seems all has ended well - perhaps the required treatment may have not been as radical as it was. Both she and I and a friend found out about work in Canada and Germany with canines to detect anomalies in the human body. It's amazing to me still and - without looking a gift horse in the mouth - being ever attentive to animals who change behaviors - sometimes all of the sudden or over a short time that it may not be

[logic-a-go-go]

11:56 PM on 04/14/2012

They communicate all the time with us; we self-absorbed humans often have no idea that they are trying to tell us things. They just can't do so with words, but they sure do tell us things through body language, tone of bark, and use of their snouts. Our dog repeatedly grabs our hands with his mouth, when he wants us to take him for a walk, turn off the alarm clock, or do something that absolutely requires human hands--one thing among at least thirty ways he communicates with us. Pay attention, and you will see it--at least in the smart dog breeds.

[Morgan378]

01:16 AM on 04/15/2012

You are so right logic - and it's great that they're intelligent enough to do this. It's "us" that need pay more attention to them. True indeed! Sounds like you have a pretty smart friend. Now,....if they could only live as long as we'd like them to. (I was bad enough when my feline's passed away - I'm gonna be a wreck when my canine need go on. But who know's? He may out live me!) ~~smile~~.

[mclkarim]

05:34 PM on 04/13/2012

This article says we won't believe it? I surely do.

[thetxsndn]

06:21 PM on 04/13/2012

Yup....they are so smart it's unreal. A friend of mine has PTSDpretty bad after 2 tours in the Gulf. About 5 yrs ago she got a service dog. This little dog knows when she's starting to "floating off" way before there's any out right signs & will jump right up in her lap & "bring her back" by licking on her cheeks. The docs at the VA have said that Shawn could go into an irreversable coma if not for that dog.

[noodles865]

07:44 PM on 04/13/2012

So does she have brain damage or is it more of an emotional, psychological issue and the dog is able to tell she is sort of checking out??just wondering if this ..oh hell not sure what the hell I am asking can you take a second and explain further really interested to know,my dad is a vet and we spent 26 years in the military and the services now will hopefully aid preventing the many vets who like after Vietnam ended up homeless on the streets and mentally ill/PTSD sufferers. a thing that saddens him to this day,sort of by the grace of God go I for him.Thanks

[mclkarim]

05:28 PM on 04/13/2012

Incredible, isn't it? I just love dogs, but a special one like this is priceless.

[indigoblue322]

05:17 PM on 04/13/2012

I LOVE animals. They are so much smater than people ever give them credit for, and that doesn't apply to just cats and dogs. I swear that my guinea pigs understand what I say to them, and they are fully aware of what's going on around them. When one of my piggies was very ill and near death, I told her tank mate (who was the dominant female) that Cali was sick and she needed to be kind to her. Chini went over to her, cuddled up next to her and rested her head on her to protect and comfort her. She stayed with her that way all night until she passed. She was very sad afterwards, too, and we grieved together. Another time, when a different piggy was ill, her tank mate basically "told" me that something was wrong. Tanzi made it through that one, and mostly due to the early warning from Coco. Animals truly are amazing, and having a close relationship with an animal is one of the most sacred things in the world. :D

[Smith1954]

05:56 PM on 04/13/2012

Great comment and you could have stopped right after "They are so much smarter than people..." and been entirely correct. :-)

[indigoblue322]

06:57 PM on 04/13/2012

Thanks, Smith. You are right too - they are so much smarter than a lot of people I have known!

[lizp33558]

04:22 AM on 04/15/2012

great post, i never knew guniea pigs were so sensitive

[indigoblue322]

11:58 AM on 04/16/2012

Thanks, liz. They really are amazing little creatures. People discount them because they are small animals, but they are smart and loving as all heck. I'll never forget Chini looking up at me while she protected Cali when she was sick. It stilll breaks my heart to remember it. I really, really love my piggies.

[Morgan378]

05:15 PM on 04/13/2012

I'd heard of another dog some time ago (I doubt it was Patra since this was about 10 yrs ago) that was able to do the same thing! It amazed me. One wonders if the changes the brain goes thru preceding a seizure are detectable by the canine's difference in senses - whether better smell or hearing or difference in sight? If it's an increase/decrease or change in electrical/chemical levels prior to a seizure is remarkable and if able to be detected how much someone prone to these possibly deadly attacks can find renewed freedom and seek treatment before they strike. Patra is a true marvel! How she came to identify this condition or is it something all dogs are capable of but we just don't see the signs the dog is making since it could be the first and only time this may happen to someone not normally having seizures on a regular basis?

[dixiebird333]

04:17 PM on 04/13/2012

DOGS RULE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Justiceforalllll]

05:23 PM on 04/13/2012

And the people of China eat dogs!!!

[mclkarim]

05:30 PM on 04/13/2012

Yeah, so what does that tell you about them?

[dixiebird333]

05:54 PM on 04/13/2012

GROSS THATS DISGUSTING !!!