Stephanie Herfel has her Siberian Husky called Sierra to thank for a great deal. The dog managed to detect her owner's cancer four times, well before the illness could be diagnosed by doctors. At least, that's what she shared with the media during 2019.
Back then, in 2013, Stephanie had been diagnosed with a benign ovarian cyst and was receiving treatment at home. Sierra sensed that something wasn't right and made sure her owner understood.
A Husky who saves lives
Sierra would come and rest her nose on her stomach, but at the time Stephanie didn't pay attention. Sierra repeated this many times, but each time her owner didn't take notice.
This continued until the day Stephanie found Sierra in a cupboard, curled up in a ball with her nose tucked under her tail, her eyes wet and her brow furrowed. It was at that moment that Stephanie had her doubts and decided to see a second specialist for another medical opinion. This doctor diagnosed Stephanie with stage 3 ovarian cancer.
After surgery and six months of treatment, Stephanie was able to recover from this cancer.
Two years later, Sierra started placing her nose on her stomach again and sniffing. Stephanie understood that once again something was wrong and went to see a doctor. The doctor told her that the cancer had returned and had started to reach her liver.
A recent study by Experimental Biology concluded that a dog's sense of smell is 10,000 times more powerful than a human's, which allows them to detect what a human nose is incapable of doing.
Four Beagles were tested to see if they could tell the difference between a normal blood sample and that of a patient suffering from cancer. The results showed that 97% of the time, the dogs' sense of smell allowed them to distinguish the diseased blood.
Since that moment in 2015, Sierra has detected her owner's cancer two more times, well before doctors were able to see it on a scan.
One thing is certain: we should listen to what our animals are trying to tell us!
