The newest workers at a Georgia senior living community don't inspect HVAC systems, clean floors or prepare food. But they do like belly rubs, and they might even be saving the lives of residents.

A Georgia-based senior living operator is partnering with a nonprofit service dog trainer to staff its metro Atlanta-based assisted living communities with COVID-sniffing canines, according to McKnight’s Senior Living. Benton House CEO Mike Allard said a story about COVID-sniffing dogs being used at airports overseas caught his attention. He said he was impressed not only by how quickly the canines learned to track the virus, but how accurate they were in detecting it — greater than 95 percent accuracy.

Allard already had a relationship with Canine Assistants, which provides service dogs to individuals with special needs at no cost. He contacted the owner about what he had read and found out the company already was testing the concept with some of its dogs, which typically are trained to detect changes in blood sugar or seizures.

The dogs identify the virus via sterile swabs used to collect sweat samples from individuals. 

Five dogs are in training, with plans to introduce Marshall, a COVID-sniffing golden retriever, to the company’s Sugar Hill facility in mid-February. If the pilot is a success, Allard plans to introduce the other four dogs at nearby assisted living communities.

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