Medical Detection Dogs has launched its first ever urgent fundraising appeal to support a pioneering project that could transform how bowel cancer is detected — using specially trained dogs.

Right now, seven amazing dogs — Hetty, Willow, Jodie, Rosie, Mango, Callie, and Dotty — are at a pivotal stage. They’ve been learning to detect the smell of bowel cancer in urine samples — a completely non-invasive, fast, and potentially life-saving breakthrough.
But we need your help to continue.

We must raise £130,000 to complete the next critical phase of the project. Without this funding, progress could grind to a halt — and we risk delaying a breakthrough that could change the future of cancer detection.

Why This Matters

• Someone is diagnosed with bowel cancer every 15 minutes in the UK
• 46 people die every day from the disease
• It’s the second leading cause of cancer deaths
• Over 85% of symptomatic patients undergo invasive colonoscopies, often unnecessarily
• Many people avoid screening due to fear, discomfort, or embarrassment of providing a faecal sample
• Due to the invasive nature of the colonoscopy screening process, only just over half of those offered will take it up. The less invasive faecal sampling is not very specific and patients often still require a colonoscopy.

We believe that by using urine samples — instead of poo samples — we can reduce stigma and embarrassment, increase participation in screening, and detect cancer earlier, when it’s most treatable.

How Your Donation Will Help

Your support will directly fund:

• Continued training for our bowel cancer detection dogs
• Scientific validation and testing
• A real-world breakthrough in early cancer screening

Every pound you can give brings us closer to proving that dogs can quickly, non-invasively and accurately help detect bowel cancer.

The Power of Dogs

Dogs’ sense of smell is extraordinary — up to 100,000 times more powerful than ours. They’ve already proven they’re capable of detecting a variety of diseases including other cancers, Parkinson’s and bacterial infections Now, with your help, they could revolutionise early bowel cancer detection.

This could mean a future where people are screened non-invasively, where cancer is caught earlier, and where more lives are saved.

Can You Help Hetty, Willow, Jodie, Rosie, Mango, Callie and Dotty Save Lives?

These dogs are ready to play their part. Their training is progressing fast. All they need now is your support.

Please donate today and help us finish this vital stage of the project. Support science. Support early detection. Support life-saving dogs.

Together, we can sniff out cancer earlier — and save lives.

Thank you.

*Bowel cancer isn’t the only challenge. Your donation will also help support our Medical Alert Assistance Dogs, who give life-saving warnings to people with serious conditions like PoTS, Addison’s disease, and Type 1 diabetes.