Sniffer dogs, the longtime and frequently adorable adversaries of music fans around the world, may soon become our best weapon in the return to live events. In the latest study from Germany, a veterinary clinic has shown that dogs that can detect COVID-19 with 94% accuracy, including people that were asymptomatic. And even better, one of the dogs in the study is a Cocker Spaniel named “Joe Cocker”.
These are not sniffer dogs…yet.
This study is the latest in dog-centered efforts around the world from England to Chile to Iran. In Finland, dogs are already being used on passengers flying into Helsinki-Vantaa Airport as part of a pilot program where they reached ‘close to 100% accuracy‘.
The research is still in early stages and experts caution these initial studies need to be peer reviewed. But the next time you’re at a festival where a sniffer dog is having a meltdown might not be because of your dirty sweatshirt that reeks of weed, but because you’re carrying a highly contagious virus.