John D is a rescue dog turned hero dog. Since being rescued he has been trained as a search and rescue dog, to detect human cancer and he is now a finalist for the American Humane Society’s Hero Dog Awards.
Donna Waugh rescued John D from a Little Rock, Arkansas animal shelter when he was just a puppy. He started going on search and rescues when he was only four months old and has been helping people ever since.
“He’s gone to a number of large national disasters including the Joplin tornado, the floods after Nashville, and then he responds here to the state police and local emergency officials for kidnappings, missing people,” said Waugh.
More recently he has been trained to detect human cancer by scent. Using urine, blood and saliva samples John D is able to determine if a patient has ovarian or thyroid cancer.
“We teach them how to recognize a hot sample if you will – a sample of a cancer patient versus a cold sample,” said Dr. Amy Ferrando.
Now John D is being recognized for all the amazing things he does for humans. Nominated for the American Humane Hero Dog of the Year award he was voted the finalist for the search and rescue category. John D and Waugh will be heading to Hollywood for the awards and although they are hopeful John D will win, they are happy for the recognition dogs are receiving.
“We would be thrilled with any of these dogs because it brings focus to what dogs can do to help humans,” said Waugh. “The heroic stories of any dog is worthy of being the winner.”
To vote for John D and see the other finalists go the the American Humane Society’s Hero Dog Awards website.
