If you have mold in your place of residence and you are a healthy adult that is not responsible for the health of anyone else, you might think that it is alright to continue living there until you can afford to have the mold removed professionally. But, while there may be no other humans that you are responsible for, do you have any pets? If you do, you might want to reconsider allowing your pet to stay with you until you can have the mold removed. Our pets are particularly at risk for developing mold-related health complications.
Something that has recently come under fire is the use of dogs to detect mold in homes and other buildings. This is not only ineffective compared to other methods, but it is also very harmful to the health of the dog. By the time the health complications of the dog show as symptoms, it is often too late to do anything about it and the animal must be euthanized. These dogs are trained to deliberately inhale mold spores, which is something that humans are repeatedly told NOT to do. Humans are told that they should always wear respirators when having anything to do with mold, so why would it make any sense to use a dog to do this job when there are other methods that are so much more effective? A dog cannot tell you what kind of mold you are dealing with, how toxic it may be, or in what quantity it exists in the home.
Dogs have not only been shown to contract aspergillosis from contact with mold, but also other conditions such as blastomycosis.
Aspergillosis can form as allergic reactions involving coughing up blood, fever, and weight loss, among some other symptoms, but it can also show up as the growth of fungus in different cavities of the body both in humans and in pets. Aspergilloma often have no symptoms at all and when they do finally surface, their symptoms can also include the coughing up of blood along with other symptoms of aspergillosis.
Blastomycosis is caused by Blastomyces dermatitidis and it occurs more in large male dogs that are of hunting breeds than most others, however, all dogs are at risk. It has been known to cause pets to develop pneumonia, other respiratory infections, and skin infections.
If you suspect mold in your home, think not only of your own and your family’s health, but also of your pets. They are some of the most at risk.
Showing posts with label mold sniffing dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mold sniffing dogs. Show all posts
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Mold Dogs are Unprofessional
When you go to hire a professional company that deals with mold contaminations, there are a few different things that you need to look for to determine whether or not the company is actually professional or not. Do they use the most modern methods of mold detection and cleaning? Do they wear protective gear? What kind of gear do they wear? Body suits? Respirators? And this is perhaps one of the most important questions of all: do they use animals to detect the presence of mold in your home?
The simple fact is that companies that use dogs to detect mold in a home or business are not professionals. They just are not. The practice of using dogs to detect mold in a home or in another building is inhumane and cruel to the animal, simply because of the knowledge that pets are just as susceptible to health damage due to mold as human beings are. A “mold dog” cannot detect whether or not the mold that exists in your home is toxic, what kind of mold it is, or in what quantity that it may exist. This is what mold laboratories and testing kits are for. All a mold dog can do is tell you if mold exists on the premises or not.
It can cost thousands of dollars for a company to have a dog trained to detect mold, but even after the dog is trained, it is almost surely money thrown down the drain. Dogs are trained to actively inhale mold spores, which is something that we as human beings are repeatedly told NEVER to do. We are told to wear respirators to filter these harmful spores out of the air that we breathe when we are dealing with mold. The animal is not aware that these spores can harm them at all. Dogs can develop severe skin, eye, and sinus infections and not to mention lung infections and even pneumonia. Unfortunately, the dog has no way of telling us that something is wrong with it. It knows, but cannot communicate this to us.
There are many other more modern, more professional ways to deal with the task of detecting mold on a piece of property. Any company that uses mold to detect dogs is not one that you want to deal with. Mold dog websites often have pictures of completely healthy animals and they will remain healthy for a while, but the typical cause of death is due to mold-related health complications.
The simple fact is that companies that use dogs to detect mold in a home or business are not professionals. They just are not. The practice of using dogs to detect mold in a home or in another building is inhumane and cruel to the animal, simply because of the knowledge that pets are just as susceptible to health damage due to mold as human beings are. A “mold dog” cannot detect whether or not the mold that exists in your home is toxic, what kind of mold it is, or in what quantity that it may exist. This is what mold laboratories and testing kits are for. All a mold dog can do is tell you if mold exists on the premises or not.
It can cost thousands of dollars for a company to have a dog trained to detect mold, but even after the dog is trained, it is almost surely money thrown down the drain. Dogs are trained to actively inhale mold spores, which is something that we as human beings are repeatedly told NEVER to do. We are told to wear respirators to filter these harmful spores out of the air that we breathe when we are dealing with mold. The animal is not aware that these spores can harm them at all. Dogs can develop severe skin, eye, and sinus infections and not to mention lung infections and even pneumonia. Unfortunately, the dog has no way of telling us that something is wrong with it. It knows, but cannot communicate this to us.
There are many other more modern, more professional ways to deal with the task of detecting mold on a piece of property. Any company that uses mold to detect dogs is not one that you want to deal with. Mold dog websites often have pictures of completely healthy animals and they will remain healthy for a while, but the typical cause of death is due to mold-related health complications.
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