From Rescue Pup To Trainee Lifesaver: Chilli’s Journey Begins

By Marie Carter-Robb

The latest recruit at the charity, Medical Detection Dogs, is an adorable rescue puppy from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

Labrador Chilli, who joined the charity at just 8 weeks old, is set to embark on a life-saving career as a super sniffer.

Chilli will begin training to become either a Medical Alert Assistance Dog or a Bio Detection Dog.

Medical Alert Assistance Dogs support individuals with complex health conditions such as Type 1 diabetes, PoTS (Postural Tachycardia Syndrome), and severe allergies, by detecting changes in their odour. These dogs alert their owners to take necessary actions, potentially preventing life-threatening medical events and avoiding hospital admissions.

Bio Detection Dogs are trained to identify the scent of diseases like cancers, Parkinson’s, and bacterial infections from human samples. Their work in the charity’s training room provides valuable insights to the scientific community, including developers of bio-electronic noses and AI, potentially revolutionising future diagnostics.

Chris Allen, Head of Canine Supply, Training and Welfare at Medical Detection Dogs, says: “When the team at Battersea called to say they had a mum and her puppies in their care, and that they were still very young, I was immediately interested. Ideally, our recruits join us at around that age, and we love to include rescue dogs when we can. We have had successful trainees from Battersea in the past, so we look forward to seeing where Chilli’s nose takes him.

“It was love at first sight for the whole team when we met Chilli. To think that he found himself homeless through no fault of his own and will now go on to do something so amazing is just brilliant.

“He already seems like a confident little boy who loves his toys and pottering about in his Puppy Socialisers’ garden and has learned all his basic cues very quickly. I can’t wait to work with him.”

Sonia Brooks, Chilli’s Puppy Socialiser, says: “We have socialised puppies for MDD in the past and love to see them progress on their life-saving paths. When we learned that our next houseguest would be Chilli, we were really excited as his story feels very special. He is keeping us entertained and seems like a really clever boy already. He doesn’t miss a beat and loves to be at the centre of the action. Of course, the first thing we did was buy him a cuddly chilli toy which he is often found proudly carrying about.”

Lucy Carter, Animal Partnerships Officer at Battersea, said: “At Battersea, our dedicated Animal Partnerships team work with many different dog and cat charities, rescues, and organisations all over the country to provide the best outcome for the dogs and cats that come into our care. At our London centre, we recently had seven Labrador puppies born on site, and one of the litter, Chilli, was a confident boy, always the first to investigate everything and explore his surroundings. We also saw that he was able to relax on his own and stay calm, making him a well-rounded little pup.

“We’ve been fortunate over the years to work closely with Medical Detection Dogs, so we thought of them straight away as we felt that Chilli would be a great fit for one of their programmes. We’re so pleased to see Chilli embark on his training and look forward to seeing how he progresses.”

Medical Detection Dogs has worked with numerous successful rescue dogs over the years, including Cocker Spaniel Asher, who was a COVID-19 detection dog, Cocker Spaniel Jasper, who is a Pseudomonas detection dog, and Dachshund Iggy, a bio detection dog in training.