Mold Dog-Anya

(My blog post has been highjacked today by Anya the Mold Dog. She wanted to personally share some information with you she thought might be helpful)

Hi, my name is Anya.  I am a working Canine. My job is to detect and alert to dangerous molds inside homes and buildings.  I helped form Sniffersquad with Jan and Melissa.  Melissa is my owner and handler, and I am Sniffersquad’s MVP due to my Olfactory receptors, my Sniffer.

I possess up to 300 million receptors in my nose compared to six million in yours.  My brain has a portion dedicated to smell analysis which is 40 times greater than yours. It’s my Superpower.

Jan told me she began to experience weakness and loss of energy in early 2015.  She was struck down with Vertigo later that year.   After a year of searching, she was diagnosed with Biotoxin illness in December of 2016.   She had Lyme disease and mold illness.  She told me later that Lyme and Mold are a very serious combination. She also told me she is on the upside of her healing journey and doing very well. I know from listening that to address Lyme, you must first get rid of mold if it is present. That’s where I can be of great help because I hunt the mold.

I learned that many people are unaware they live in toxic environments. 25% of the human population have an inborn susceptibility to mold. For Jan it was not until she got Lyme disease that mold began to affect her.  Lyme is like a sieve; it lets all kind of opportunistic bacteria and viruses into your body and brain including mold.

Currently, there are no EPA regulations or standards for airborne mold contaminants. Many insurance companies offer low or no limits on any kind of mold remediation assistance. I hear it can be an expensive process. I can sense how nervous some people are when I am hunting for mold. I want to tell them not to be afraid. It’s better if I can show them where it is or as Melissa’s likes to say, “where it is not”. That way they at least know.

Jan found the mold in her house when one of her practitioners recommended a mold dog.   The dog came to her home and located the mold.  Just like that. She tells me it was right then she looked at Melissa, her best friend, and said “Do you want to start a business? Let’s get a mold dog.” Melissa found a breeder specializing in Standard Poodle Scent/Hunting dogs. The breeder said a standard poodle is an unconventional scent, hunting dog but has a big brain and drive.  As evidenced by my mother, a lovely white poodle. I have seen photos of her carrying ducks, pheasants and quail. I could have been a hunting dog chasing birds, but I like my role at Sniffersquad much better.  I help people.  

I honed my scent superpower with a master canine trainer in Florida for 14 weeks over 600+ hours at the beginning of the pandemic.  When I am not working in client’s homes and buildings, I train daily to stay current with my skills. I am certified in Mold Detection. Scent dogs like me, have been used for years to detect drugs, bombs, accelerates, termites, bedbugs, illnesses and now my target, MOLD.  Don’t believe me?  That’s okay - some things you must see to believe.

We formed our company, Sniffersquad, with “Doing Good” as the foundation of our business. We do not believe people should live in fear of their environments.  Our objective is to help those who are burdened with illness, investing in, or selling real estate (that could contain dangerous mold) and simply the curious.   The curious being people wanting to know if they live with mold.  We are not a mold remediation company.  We are mold hunters.

I work at Sniffersquad because at the end of the day, if you or someone you love are chronically ill or simply curious about mold, I can help you. I can tell you when I am at your home or place of business if you have mold and where it is located. Mold can be dangerous to human health, this much I know is true.  One of the best things about my job is meeting so many interesting people, hearing their stories and searching their homes. When my work is done, my vest comes off and I am able to visit, play and be petted to my hearts content. There is something about me being a dog that people trust, my only agenda is to find the mold.

In my spare time when I am not working, I play with my two older sisters, both standard poodles.  We play with the deer who live behind the back fence and two of us like to chase squirrels.   Several times a week I walk with Melissa and other days I roller blade with Jan.  I am trim and stay in good shape so I can do my job well.

Check me out at www.Sniffersquad.com. 

Jan likes the quote below and asked me to add it to my post:

“Dogs help you to appreciate the world around you. They smell the ground so intensely.  They look at the trees as though they are seeing them for the first time.  It helps us to remember the wonders that we take for granted.”

-Cesar Millan 

Until next time,

Love,

Anya