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For these working dogs, mold is gold

Meet the pups that lead inspectors to the source of trouble

http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/04/23/mold.dogs/index.html

(CNN) -- Forget batteries, microchips and expensive air quality

tests. Some experts simply reach for a bag of doggie treats when

searching for pesky hidden house molds.

Animal trainer Bill Whitstine claims his Labradors, border collies,

Jack terriers and even mutts rescued from the pound have a

better track record of detecting the tiny spores that sometimes

linger inside walls, crawl spaces and attics. Traditional mold

inspections require drilling in exactly the right place to find the

root of the problem, a time-consuming and expensive process that can

leave walls looking like Swiss cheese.

" We don't have X-ray eyes, but [the dogs] have X-ray noses, "

Whitstine said.

Since 1998, his Florida Canine Academy has prepared dozens of pooches

for sniffing out mold.

The dogs are given between 800 to 1,000 hours of intense training,

learning to respond only to scents produced by mold spores.

" There isn't anything technically advanced enough to pinpoint where

the mold is except for the dogs, " Rasmussen, an Anoka,

Minnesota, mold inspector whose smooth-coated fox terrier, ,

was trained by Whitstine.

" Technology has not caught up. The sensitivity isn't nearly as great

as what the dogs have. "

Research at Alabama's Auburn University seems to back up her claim.

Scientists at the university's Canine and Detection Research

Institute found that dogs can detect a scent that is only present in

one part per every two billion air parts.

Battery-operated mold detection meters need thousands of times that

level of concentration for detection.

" Mold dogs " complement the infrared cameras, fiber-optic scopes and

lab tests used by traditional mold inspectors. By pointing out the

places where they smell mold, the dogs allow the inspectors to

collect better samples for testing.

This ability to locate and follow scents to their highest

concentration sets the dogs apart from their digital counterparts and

lowers the risk of unguided drilling that could spread mold to walls

that are not infected.

" It's been good for business, " Rasmussen said. " People trust the

dog's opinion over the human's because they know the dog won't lie. "

Another bonus with the dogs, Rasmussen said, is speed.

" It can take weeks to get test results back from a lab, " she

said. " We can go in a house and tell them that day if they have mold

or not. "

Whitstine follows similar guidelines and standards for training his

mold dogs as he does for pups trained to detect arson or drugs.

Every year, the dogs and their trainers are urged to come back for

refresher courses. It's important for the owners to be trained too

because the biggest risk for an errant diagnosis, Whitstine said, is

human handlers misreading their pets.

Whitstine said his dogs have been ordered from as far away as

Finland. But his services don't come cheap. He charges $12,500 for

his mold-sniffing canines, and he will train a dog brought to him for

the same price.

" We have over 50 [mold dogs] in the country right now, " Whitstine

said. " I think within the next three to five years you'll see upwards

of a thousand. "