Bill Whitstine can tell you that a standard canine has the olfactory potential detection range of up to 500 parts per billion. This actually means, dogs can save your home from irreversible and costly damage.
Whitstine, a former Florida Fire Marshal and trainer of arson and bomb detection dogs, is the founder of Mold Dog, an organization that trains dogs to detect toxic levels of mold in homes and buildings. He started Mold Dog after being approached by an insurance company curious about the potential of a dog’s sensory abilities. Toxic mold, which erodes the walls and foundations of poorly maintained buildings and homes, is recurrently a deal-breaker for homeowners and prospective property owners looking for appraisals. The mold creeps below the surface of the walls and often is undetectable by sight. Both Whitstine and the insurance companies figured that maybe what human eyes couldn’t see, dogs’ noses can smell.
“The traditional ways of testing for toxic mold, air samples and random dissection are and always have been, “an expensive and inaccurate procedure,” says Whitstine. “A dog’s nose can easily discriminate between a multitude of scents that humans couldn’t even begin to sense.” Whitstine’s dogs, by the conclusion of their training, can easily detect minute levels of toxic mold, and more importantly, where it lurks in the building.
“They’re trained like bomb dogs, to sit immediately when they detect a smell,” continues Whitstine. The accuracy can save property owners countless amounts of money. “I’ve seen unattended mold damage that has caused upwards of one million dollars to a home.”
Whitstine often finds his dogs at shelters, and looks for the most energetic and excitable canines he can get his hands on. “I look for any dogs that were deemed ‘untrainable,’ whose owners got rid of them because they were too energetic,” he says. “If a dog is bouncing off the walls, that just means that they’re bored and want a job. So I give them a job; bust them out of ‘prison’, in a way.” Any dog with a high energy level is welcome to the program regardless of age or breed. It takes 600-1000 hours of intense training to get a dog ready for mold detection.
Mold Dog’s prospective handlers must also complete a training reg-iment, a five-day trial to acquaint them with search patterns, scent discrimination, and canine first aid. The most important aspect for prospective handlers is to develop a healthy bond with their dog.
“The two have to get along,” says Whitstine. “It’s a partnership. The handler and their dog have to be in tune with one another for it to work.”
And so far it has. Since the initial launch of Mold Dog, Whitstine has successfully placed 30 dogs with handlers in New York, New Jersey, California, Las Vegas and various other locales across the country.
“I’m particularly fond of One-Eyed Jack,” says Whitstine, “an injured Jack Russell that we found a little while back. His left eye had been removed, but we were able to train him and place him with a great handler in Oregon. I talk to him all the time, and the two are getting along just great.”
For more information on Mold Dog, visit www.mold-dog.com.
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