Angus works primarily at Vancouver General Hospital, but came on a special visit to the Interior this week.

Image Credit: Vancouver Coastal Health

VERNON - Man’s best friend was working hard today at Vernon Jubilee Hospital.

Angus, a four-year-old English Springer Spaniel, came with his handler Jaime Kinna to sweep the hospital for the harmful superbug C. difficile.

Angus is one of only two certified C. difficile sniffing dogs in the world. He spends most of his days at Vancouver General Hospital, but was on loan at Interior Health this week. He visited Kamloops' Royal Inland Hospital yesterday and moved on to Vernon today. 

Interior Health’s director of infection prevention and control, Valerie Wood, says they are thrilled to have Angus visit the hospital.

“We can’t see where C. diff spores are. We can certainly assume. We know when we have C. diff positive patients, and we know about the importance of cleaning those areas. However, what we don’t know is have we missed anywhere?” Wood says, adding the bacteria can easily be transferred doorknobs, washrooms and elsewhere. 

Image Credit: Vancouver Coastal Health

C. difficile, one is of several notorious 'superbugs' which are largely immune to treatment. It is not uncommon in hospital settings and despite the hard work of cleaning staff, it is difficult to eradicate and spores can last up to five months. The bacteria is primarily a concern for patients with weakened immune systems or those on antibiotics. It can lead to severe diarrhea and in some cases, life-threatening conditions.

Enter Angus.

Specially trained to detect the odour of C. difficile, a typical shift for Angus is about seven hours and he always finds C. difficile during his searches. During a demo at Vernon Jubilee Hospital, he rigorously leads his handler around the room and finds his target (hidden in a Kleenex container) in under a minute. When he locates it, he puts his front paws up on the table and looks at his handler — the signal that communicates “reward me.” The work is physically and mentally demanding for him, so Angus gets lots of breaks to hydrate and got outside to check his “p-mail,” Kinna says.

English Springer Spaniels make good detection dogs for hospitals due to their smaller, less intimidating size compared to the German Shepherd and Labrador breeds which are used for narcotics and bomb detection, Kinna says.

Angus, the C. difficile sniffing dog, during a shift at Vernon Jubilee Hospital July 27, 2018.

(CHARLOTTE HELSTON - REPORTER / iNFOnews.ca)

“When (patients) are coming in here, they’re not always feeling great generally anyway and we found the Springer Spaniel has the same ability scent-wise to detect and they’re a little less intimidating. They’re low shed and they’re small in size (so) they’re able to fit around the hospital equipment,” Kinna says.

While there are other ways to sweep for C. difficile, Kinna says dogs are actually proving to be more cost effective and faster than other methods. In some parts of the world, she says dogs are even being trained to sniff for cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

Right now Angus spends four days a week at Vancouver General Hospital, but is welcome back at Interior Health any time.

“What we’re  hoping someday is if we could get one… to have another dog for Interior Health,” Wood says.

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