Dog Gets His Own Driver's License For His Birthday

Getting a car for your 16th birthday is the ultimate present — so when Allie Miller’s dachshund Moose approached his milestone birthday, she knew exactly what to do to make it a special one.

“We jokingly call Moose our little grumpy old man when really he is one of the sweetest pups I know,” Miller told The Dodo. “He’s extremely goofy and his old age has not slowed him down a bit!”

Allie Miller (photo credit: The Dodo)

Moose loves eating Popsicles, barking at squirrels, going on walks with the neighbor’s dog — as well as taking relaxing rides in the car. For senior pup’s birthday, Miller not only got Moose a little car of his own but a driver’s license to make sure everything was “legal.” 

Miller made the special license herself, and the final result was perfect: “I found a stock image online and Photoshopped everything to be accurate for Moose,” Miller said. “I wanted it to look as real as I possibly could to make the joke even better.”

When Moose’s birthday arrived, Miller placed him in a Little Tikes car adorned with a big bow next to his license for a special photo shoot. The dog was laid-back about the whole thing and seemed to enjoy the attention.

“We do tend to go all out for Moose’s birthday every year,” Miller said. “He’s a huge part of our family so his day is just as special, it’s to the point where my parents, brother, sister, her fiancé, and myself actually sing happy birthday to him. I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t spoiled!”

Afterward, Moose celebrated his independence with his favorite treat: a tasty Popsicle.

“He was one happy boy,” Miller said. “He enjoys a nice car ride so I think he was excited to finally have his own.”

Source: Culled from The Dodo

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Dogs in US being taught to smell coronavirus in patients

Photo credit: AKC 

Dogs in the US are being trained to detect Covid-19 in patients, to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

In the trial programme, run by the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, eight dogs will be trained over the course of three weeks to sniff out coronavirus from urine and saliva samples.

Photo credit: Livewithdogs

Dr Cynthia Otto, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said in a statement, that dogs already have the ability to sniff out other dangerous conditions.

“Scent detection dogs can accurately detect low concentrations of volatile organic compounds, otherwise known as VOCs, associated with various diseases such as ovarian cancer, bacterial infections, and nasal tumours. These VOCs are present in human blood, saliva, urine or breath,” she said.

The study is hoping that dogs will be able to help tackle the pandemic, by identifying coronavirus patients, even if they are asymptomatic.

Dr Otto added that “the potential impact of these dogs and their capacity to detect Covid-19 could be substantial.

“This study will harness the dog’s extraordinary ability to support the nation’s Covid-19 surveillance systems, with the goal of reducing community spread.”​

This is not the first study to see if dogs can be trained to smell coronavirus in patients, as in the UK, Durham university, alongside the Medical Detection Dogs charity and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, started research into the possibility last month.

Six dogs are being trained in that programme, and the researchers hope that they will know if they can sniff out Covid-19 in a few weeks.

“A dog is sniffing each person in turn — it takes 0.5 of a second, the dog quickly identifies which people need a test and need to go straight into isolation to prevent the further spread around the UK,”  Dr Claire Guest, the founder of Medical Detection Dogs wrote.

“This would be fast, effective and non-invasive and make sure the limited NHS testing resources are only used where they are really needed,” she added.

Culled from: INDEPENDENT.CO.UK

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