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ABC On the scent dogs sniff out peanuts ABC Nes March 2009

Riley Mers and her Portuguese water dog Rock'O seem like any ordinary pair, but nothing about this 8-year-old girl and her pet is ordinary.

An 8-year-old's dog is trained to protect her against peanuts."It might look to you like it's a kid playing with a dog," said Riley's mother, Sherry Mers. "To me, that's a dog that's saving my daughter's life while they're playing."

Riley's peanut allergy is so severe that if the Monument, Colo., girl even touches something with peanut residue it is enough to send her to the hospital. more

Inside Edition - Aboy and his peanut sniffing dog (Feb 2009)

"This is no ordinary story of a boy and his dog...because this little boy's life literally depends on his Black Lab.

9-year-old Billy Gensel is so allergic to peanuts, he has to wear a warning tag around his neck. "It says peanut tree nut allergy, fatal," Billy tells INSIDE EDITION."

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From Angel Service Dogs website

Allergy Alert Dogs:
Life threatening food allergies affect millions of children in the United States alone. Food send countless people to the emergency room fearing for their lives or the lives of loved ones. Unfortunately, many do not survive. An Allergy Alert Dog can be a valuable tool for those with life threatening (anapylactic) allergies. Since a dog’s sense of smell far surpasses that of humans, detection of odors is a perfect job for a correctly trained dog. Once extensively trained, a dog will easily be able to detect minute quantities of an allergen in any form; raw, cooked, oil, butter, dust, etc. What is taken for granted by most is a luxury for these families. Because their children can even be contact sensitive to common, everyday foods, they must be constantly vigilant in protecting their children. Many times they do not participate in group activities like church, school, or even a simple ball game. Because there is no cure for severe food allergies, these families need help to begin a life with more freedom.

ABC News - These Dogs Can Hunt: Sniffing out Peanuts (Jan 2009)

Sonja McConnell only skimmed the inch-long blurb about peanut detector dogs in a Reader's Digest clipping that her husbands' grandmother sent her. But she remembered that clipping later.

A mom is looking for a peanut-sniffing dog to help her son's deadly allergy.Last year, one week before Thanksgiving, McConnell, 31, crouched next to her four-year-old son Jett in a parking lot and held him down with the help of a stranger as he suffered a violent allergic reaction. McConnell gave Jett, who is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, two shots of epinephrine and took him to the hospital.

Later, exhausted, McConnell replayed the scene, wondering how her son could cope with his allergies if he were alone or among strangers. Already the McConnell family, who live in Spokane, Wash., must avoid social functions, such as potlucks and birthday parties, and public areas to minimize Jett's risk of peanut exposure. Anything from food to lotions with nut oils to library books can be a potential allergy trigger.

"I thought, oh, my gosh, I have to get one of those dogs!" McConnell said.

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www.peanutdogs.com Information on peanut detecting dogs trained by experienced detection dog trainers. Peanut Dogs can be used by people with severe peanut allergies. Upon request, dogs can also detect tree nuts and other allergens.

First Coast News Peanut sniffing dog (2005)
Peanut sniffing dog- sniffs out peanuts for allergic child, helping to manage allergy. From article:

White is a professional dog trainer and says he can train a dog to do almost anything.
"I trained him to detect Peanut, only Peanut, nothing else." says White. He demonstrated by calling together a pack of eight dogs, of different breeds, and gave the voice command.
"Find the Peanut Butter," he said. A brown, mixed breed Labrador broke our from the group and with his nose to the ground started looking for the Peanut Butter. He was persistent, until he found a hidden Tennis Ball that was covered in Peanut Butter.