Angus, the C. difficile sniffer dog, is celebrated as he retires after a decade

Nearly 10 years after he began his hunt for a superbug known as C. difficile in Vancouver, Angus English Springer spaniel he’s giving his nose a break as he retires from work.

Angus was part of Vancouver General Hospital’s pilot project in 2015 to see if a dog could sniff out the dangerous bacteria, also known as Clostridium difficile. The superbug is most harmful in people whose immune systems have been weakened by antibiotics.

The dangerous microbe has been a concern for hospitals across North America and can cause infectious diarrhea in hospitals and long-term care facilities. Even with rigorous cleaning practices, it can still be difficult to detect.

That’s where Angus came in, finding C. difficile in areas of the hospital that would otherwise go unnoticed by the naked eye. Angus found C. difficile in places such as discarded furniture and outdated medical equipment.

He started training in February 2016 and started sniffing infections a year later. Since then he has spent 85 percent of his life serving BC and Canadians. He has worked in 32 hospitals across Canada.

“He’s sniffed thousands of units and had just as many alarms, so those are all potential to save people in them,” said Teresa Zurberg, Angus’ trainer.

“But like with people, eventually the body starts to slow down. The mind doesn’t, but the body is like, ‘I’m a little more tired this morning.’ So he was just telling us, ‘I’m still pretty good at it, but I’m not great at it like I was.’ So he will go on to new adventures.”

Sunday’s retirement party was hosted by Zurburg, who also created Vancouver Coastal Health’s K9 Discovery Program.

She said the dogs do routine screenings of units in health care facilities and hospitals. They then raise the alarm when they find “environmental reservoirs” of C. difficile. The area can then be cleaned with a disinfecting robot with UV light to remove most of the superbug spores.

Before training Angus, Zurberg was infected with the superbug after being treated for a leg wound in 2013. She said she knows the danger of the superbug all too well.

“I was already working as an explosives and narcotics dog handler,” Zurberg said of how the program began. “There’s a smell. I can train a dog to find it.”

Zurberg said Angus has turned his attention to sniffing arrows lost in the bush at the Semiahmoo Fish And Game Club in Surrey, BC She said some of the arrows cost $100, so being able to retrieve them is helpful.

The 13-year-old cub has also made a lot of friends along the way, his trainer said; he has met with politicians such as former BC Premier John Horgan and various health ministers, premiers and celebrities.

As Angus is withdrawn from health services, Zurberg hopes she can get him some recognition.

“I think Angus has done his dues, he’s been recognized internationally, he’s been awarded,” she said. “So I’d really like to be able to give him the Canadian Service Medal for what he’s done for people.”

She said nominations are currently only being accepted for people, but she hopes she can get the support of government officials to get the medal for Angus.

–with files from Global News Darragh MacGowan

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