A series of studies worldwide show that man’s best friend could play a role in limiting the spread of Covid-19.

According to a New York Times report, countries around the world are training dogs to detect Covid-19 in people. Preliminary studies have found dogs can detect the virus, possibly at a better rate than rapid antigen testing.

According to researchers at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, their team of trained Labradors accurately sniffed out the virus 96.2% of the time in controlled settings. Similar studies in other countries had lower, but still promising results.

“For dogs, the smell is obvious, just like grilled meat for us,” Dr. Kaywalee Chatdarong of the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok told The New York Times.

In the U.S., dogs have been used to screen guests at private events, including at Miami Heat games and the South Beach Wine and Food Festival in Florida, but there is currently no government initiative to use Covid detection dogs.

James Logan, a professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medical Medicine, said in a video published by BBC that the news was “very exciting,” and that the dogs are able to be trained quickly.

“The dogs were able to be trained really quickly on this order and were able to distinguish people who were infected from those who were uninfected,” he said. “So the best dog was able to detect somebody correctly that had Covid 94% 0f the time which is really really high and very exciting.”

Talk about some well-earned treats.

Watch above, via YouTube.

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