Woman's life is saved after canine detects breast cancer

A dog's sense of smell is one of his or her most impressive traits, but it's very rare that a pooch's nose could be the catalyst in saving a person's life. According to FoxNews.com, Sharon Rawlinson, 43, began to notice that her King Charles Spaniel Penny had begun to scratch and sniff at her chest for months. Rawlinson, who has a history of breast cancer in her family, kept the occurrence in mind when she went in for a recent physical, and she was astounded by what the doctor found. Thanks to Penny's constant pestering, Rawlinson's doctor was able to find an aggressive tumor located in her left breast and will soon undergo surgery and a chemotherapy regimen. While Rawlinson's fight is certainly not over, her chances of survival are exponentially better thanks to the capable nose of her companion.

"Penny was pawing me for weeks," Rawlinson told the news source. "She would gently paw me as if she was trying to get something out of my left breast, but I ignored it. When she stood on me in the middle of the night and wouldn't get off, the pain was like a thousand bee stings, and the next day I felt bruised."

While this story may seem like a one-in-a-million type of occurrence, recent studies have shown that dogs have a tremendous aptitude to sniff out certain cancers and bodily changes. According to CBSNews, a German study performed at Schillerhoehe Hospital over the past year put this skill to the test. After taking breath samples from patients with lung cancer or pulmonary diseases, specially-trained sniffer dogs were actually able to detect the presence of cancer 71 percent of the time. By being able to smell the subtle changes in a human's breath that occurs following cancer diagnosis, dogs once again show just how in tune they can be with a person's well-being.

A story like Penny and Sharon Rawlinson's is just one example of the indelible impact that a canine can have on a person's life, especially when it's on the line. If you've been thinking about adopting a dog of your own and seeing how a furry companion can change your life, consider visiting Bideawee's website for a complete listing of dogs up for adoption in the New York City area.