• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • GMA3: WYNTK
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2025 ABC News
  • Wellness

Woman's foster dog has a part-time job learning to sniff out cancer

3:52
Woman's foster dog has a part-time job learning to sniff out cancer
ABC
ByGMA Team
May 15, 2019, 12:37 PM

Anna Sharova is the foster mom of a 2-year-old German Shepherd named Ivey who, like any other dog, loves to play, go on walks and lounge around the house.

The rest of the time, though, Ivey is on the job at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

When she's there, Ivey is training to sniff out cancer.

Anna Sharova is the foster mom of a 2-year-old German Shepherd named Ivey.
ABC

Researchers working with Ivey and other dogs at the center ultimately hope to perfect an electronic nose that will be able to detect stage-one ovarian cancer, a type of cancer that the American Cancer Society estimates will affect over 22,000 women in 2019.

"My dream is the dogs confirm that the electronic nose is working and we get that out into hospitals so that thousands of women can be screened," Dr. Cindy Otto, the Working Dog Center's executive director, told "Good Morning America."

Related Articles

(MORE: Boy with nut allergy gets life-saving service dog after going into 5-day coma)

Editor’s Picks

Boy with nut allergy gets life-saving service dog after going into 5-day coma

  • May 14, 2019

Mom of 2 gives kidney to 24-year-old after seeing plea written on his mother's car

  • May 14, 2019

6 health screening tests millennials should know about

  • May 13, 2019

Researchers train dogs like Ivey by exposing them to different odors. Once dogs are through the training, researchers take blood plasma from real cancer patients and place them into one of eight cannisters on a wheel, training the dogs to sniff and detect the cancer.

Ivey, a 2-year-old German Shepherd, trains at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
ABC

Otto said that while it's possible for a pet to sense certain cancers in their owner, a machine is more reliable. That's why they are working to perfect the electronic nose.

"If we can help recognize [ovarian] cancer early, we will save lives," said Otto.

Related Articles

(MORE: Mom of 2 gives kidney to 24-year-old after seeing plea written on his mother's car)

A dog's sense of smell has been estimated to be 10,000 to 100,000 times more sensitive than humans, according to ABC News. Dr. Jennifer Ashton, who explained that dogs are able to detect newly discovered biomarkers of cancer in blood and urine.

A dog sniffs for cancer at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
ABC

But while dogs are doing this groundbreaking work, don't expect to see dogs in your doctor's office anytime soon. The goal of the research is to identify the cancer compounds that dogs can smell — which current technology can't detect — and then creating new technology around that, Ashton said. There are no screening tests and no obvious symptoms for ovarian cancer, so it is usually diagnosed late.

While Ivey and the dogs at Penn Vet Working Dog Center are working to detect ovarian cancer, dogs elsewhere are involved in research projects for other types of cancer. A study presented at a biochemistry conference last month, for example, showed that beagles could detect lung cancer through blood samples with 96% accuracy, according to Ashton.

Related Topics

  • Animals

Editor’s Picks

Boy with nut allergy gets life-saving service dog after going into 5-day coma

  • May 14, 2019

Mom of 2 gives kidney to 24-year-old after seeing plea written on his mother's car

  • May 14, 2019

6 health screening tests millennials should know about

  • May 13, 2019

Up Next in Wellness—

Increased screen time linked to aggression, anxiety, low self-esteem in kids, study finds

June 10, 2025

Gun deaths among children surge after states loosen firearm laws, new study finds

June 9, 2025

ESPN anchor Jay Harris announces prostate cancer diagnosis

June 5, 2025

'Bachelorette' alum Katie Thurston reveals memory loss amid breast cancer battle

June 3, 2025

Shop GMA Favorites

ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Sponsored Content by Taboola

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2025 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2025 ABC News