0:00:09 > 0:00:11For some people, like Archie,
0:00:11 > 0:00:15a medical emergency is only ever minutes away.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19He's eight and has a severe form of diabetes.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Soon after he was born, his blood sugar levels started to spike
0:00:22 > 0:00:25and drop with no warning symptoms.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29Anything could happen at any time and within seconds.
0:00:29 > 0:00:30It wasn't even minutes.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Either one of us would stay up all night,
0:00:33 > 0:00:35or we would both take it in shifts
0:00:35 > 0:00:38so that we'd be checking him every hour.
0:00:38 > 0:00:45We would go to sleep and it would be the morning
0:00:45 > 0:00:49and we would be too scared to go into his bedroom
0:00:49 > 0:00:54because of the fear that he may not be alive.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57Archie's family was almost at breaking point
0:00:57 > 0:01:00when they found a charity that changed their lives
0:01:00 > 0:01:03by giving them a very surprising way
0:01:03 > 0:01:05to monitor his blood sugar levels.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09The solution was a dog.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Now, dogs have an astonishing sense of smell -
0:01:12 > 0:01:16around 100,000 times stronger than our own - and this charity,
0:01:16 > 0:01:21Medical Detection Dogs, have harnessed that extraordinary ability
0:01:21 > 0:01:25and trained dogs to alert people to changes in their medical condition.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28This is Domino.
0:01:28 > 0:01:30He's been with Archie's family for over a year
0:01:30 > 0:01:33and takes some of the stress out of their lives
0:01:33 > 0:01:35by checking on Archie's sugar levels.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40When he jumped up at Mum, it was a sign of an alert,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43so what I'm going to do now is I'm going to prick...
0:01:48 > 0:01:51Domino will sleep beside Archie by his bed
0:01:51 > 0:01:55and if Archie's actually going out of his blood sugar range,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Domino wakes us up to actually check Archie.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04I'm not sure where we'd be without Medical Detection Dogs right now.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Our little boy went from not wanting to talk to anybody
0:02:07 > 0:02:10to going to all sorts of different after-school clubs,
0:02:10 > 0:02:12running around being a little cheeky monster.
0:02:12 > 0:02:19Archie feels he actually is normal now and I couldn't give that to him
0:02:19 > 0:02:24and I so wanted to, but they did.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31This is the Medical Detection Dogs office.
0:02:31 > 0:02:33I think it's my favourite office in the country
0:02:33 > 0:02:37and I think there are more dogs that work here than people.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40Now, the charity have managed to place over 60 dogs
0:02:40 > 0:02:42with people with chronic conditions all over the country,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46but that's not all they do, and if you donate,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50you will be helping to fund some pioneering research,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53because what they've discovered is that these dogs are able
0:02:53 > 0:02:57to pick up on conditions that haven't yet been diagnosed.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Working with a local hospital, the charity is training dogs
0:03:05 > 0:03:10to sniff out urine samples positive for prostate cancer.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16Indication?
0:03:16 > 0:03:20- Correct. - Isn't that just extraordinary?
0:03:20 > 0:03:23When I first came here last year to see these dogs working,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26I was amazed by how quickly and accurately
0:03:26 > 0:03:29they can pick up a positive sample.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Well done, Kiwi!
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Prostate cancer detection rates have trebled since 1980,
0:03:37 > 0:03:41partly due to a widely-used blood test that diagnoses the disease.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46However, this test sometimes falsely raises suspicion of cancer
0:03:46 > 0:03:50where there is none, leading to unnecessary invasive biopsies
0:03:50 > 0:03:54and it can also miss some aggressive cancers.
0:03:54 > 0:03:59Prostate cancer still claims the lives of 11,000 people a year.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03Iqbal Anjum is a consultant neurologist.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06His research team is collaborating with Medical Detection Dogs
0:04:06 > 0:04:11on a study aimed at developing a new way of testing for the disease.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17Phase one is proving that dogs can do it with good confidence level.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22In 96% of patients where there is cancer, they pick up the cancer.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24This is the excitement.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28That information can be utilised in future
0:04:28 > 0:04:33to isolate special chemicals which can be globally used
0:04:33 > 0:04:38to diagnose and facilitate prostate cancer treatment.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42The ideal testing system would be like a pregnancy test.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46If we were to develop such a simple, non-invasive test
0:04:46 > 0:04:50which was less time consuming, that would simply be perfect.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54This ground-breaking research relies entirely
0:04:54 > 0:04:56on the charity's 15 detection dogs.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58They don't live at the training centre.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Instead, they have homes to go back to.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06Pauline runs a local garden centre and fosters Kiwi.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11I wanted to know what goes into looking after a detection dog.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15- Sit down.- Oh, she's beautifully behaved, Pauline.- Settle, settle.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18So, how did you first come across Medical Detection Dogs?
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Well, I'd just got over cancer treatment myself
0:05:21 > 0:05:24and there's an article in our local paper
0:05:24 > 0:05:28from Medical Detection Dogs wanting volunteers.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32We came up to their open day and we said, "We've got to help."
0:05:32 > 0:05:33This is an incredible charity,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36so for the last three and a half years,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38I've been helping out doing fostering work.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43Do you think she enjoys this life, enjoys the work?
0:05:43 > 0:05:46I'm sure she must do, because when we come in in the morning,
0:05:46 > 0:05:51in she goes, tail wagging, and it's like having a child,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54like doing the school run with the dog.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Kiwi's work is helping to improve
0:05:56 > 0:05:59the accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis
0:05:59 > 0:06:03and could reduce the amount of avoidable invasive testing.
0:06:05 > 0:06:1147-year-old Lee has volunteered to help with the charity's work, too.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13My dad, who was 82 at the time,
0:06:13 > 0:06:15was tested positive for prostate cancer,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18which prompted me and my brothers to have a blood test.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21My brother and I were both found to be positive.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23We thought, "Oh, well."
0:06:23 > 0:06:27The next stage of the full diagnosis was a prostate biopsy.
0:06:29 > 0:06:30It is very unpleasant,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33something that I definitely don't want to do again.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Before starting treatment, Lee got in touch with the charity
0:06:36 > 0:06:41and offered a urine sample known to be positive for prostate cancer.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46The mere thought of being able to let other people
0:06:46 > 0:06:49have early diagnoses in the future is a fantastic thing
0:06:49 > 0:06:52and I'm really glad I could contribute something towards that,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54however small.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58If it's successful, the research using these cancer detection dogs
0:06:58 > 0:07:04will mean more reliable testing and that will save thousands of lives.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07But the charity does need your support to continue training
0:07:07 > 0:07:12these miraculous dogs and exploring new ways of detecting disease,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14and not just prostate cancer.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19The charity is looking into how dogs can detect breast cancer
0:07:19 > 0:07:22and is also researching Parkinson's disease.
0:07:22 > 0:07:23Now, dog owners like me know
0:07:23 > 0:07:25what loyal and wonderful companions they are,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28but these dogs are so much more.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32Whilst I've had Domino,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35he's been a life-saver, really.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Although he looks much like a normal dog, he just isn't.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46These dogs, this charity are doing something extraordinary -
0:07:46 > 0:07:50pioneering work that changes lives like Archie's,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52but could also save lives, too.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56But the research and the training of dogs like Daisy doesn't come cheap
0:07:56 > 0:07:58and you could make all the difference.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02So, go on, dig behind your sofa cushions, raid the piggy bank,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05reach for the credit card and give what you can
0:08:05 > 0:08:11to Medical Detection Dogs and I promise you, every penny you donate
0:08:11 > 0:08:14will be very, very well spent indeed.
0:08:14 > 0:08:15Won't it, Daisy?
0:08:16 > 0:08:18To give by phone, call...
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32Texts cost £10 plus your standard network message charge
0:08:32 > 0:08:35and the whole £10 goes to Medical Detection Dogs.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39For full terms and conditions or to make a donation online,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41visit the Lifeline website.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46Or if you'd like to post a donation,
0:08:46 > 0:08:48please make your cheque payable
0:08:48 > 0:08:49to Medical Detection Dogs
0:08:49 > 0:08:51and send it to...
0:08:52 > 0:08:54..writing Medical Detection Dogs
0:08:54 > 0:08:56on the back of the envelope.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Thank you.