Family dog detects cancer in toddler

Border collie refused to leave girl's side

A dog in Brotton, North Yorkshire, England, sniffed out that its owner's daughter has an aggressive form of cancer.

According to the Daily Mirror, Philippa Wood's parents took notice when Bessie, a border collie, began acting strangely around Philippa, 2.

Bessie wouldn't leave Philippa's side, and shortly thereafter, Philippa's doctor diagnosed her with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the Mirror reports.

“We have so much to thank Bessie for. She was acting quite strangely around Philippa a few days before we had her diagnosed," Philippa's father Philip told the Mirror. “If it wasn’t for the dog we might not have taken action as quickly as we did."

Bessie comes from the same bloodline as Meg, another border collie that detected cancer in its owner, the Mirror reports.

According to the Mirror, dogs have around 25 times more smell receptors than humans, boosting their smelling ability by about 100,000 times. Studies show it helps them spot even early stages of illness, as cancerous cells have unique odors different from those of healthy human cells.