SARASOTA, Fla. — Doctors Hospital of Sarasota had the first COVID-19 patient in the state, and now they have a new way to help detect the virus thanks to a COVID-19 sniffing dog.
Buffy, the two-year-old yellow lab, is trained to sniff out COVID-19.
After hospital visitors go through the temperature check and initial COVID screening questions, Buffy sniffs the visitor. If she detects COVID-19 she will lay down.
Just last week buffy detected her first positive visitor who immediately took a rapid test and learned they did have COVID.
Hospital staff says the extra level of protection helps to make sure the patients stay safe.
"I thought that was amazing when you think about where you could potentially miss someone. You know, screening everywhere is just about the same. You take temperatures, you ask a lot of questions but sometimes people have it and they don’t know it," said Robert Meade, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota CEO.
Buffy's trainers say she is 95 percent accurate at detecting COVID-19.
She comes from Southeastern Guide Dogs who are working to train more dogs like Buffy to sniff out the virus.
