Meet Nano the poodle, Europe's first 'nut detection dog' trained to sniff-out danger and keep his allergic owner safe

World Class
A woman with a severe nut allergy has had her life miraculously changed after being paired with the first dog in Europe trained to sniff out allergies.

Yasmine Tornblad can go into anaphylactic shock from just the smell of nuts and has been rushed into hospital more than 15 times in the last eight years.

But now she takes four-year-old poodle Nano everywhere she goes - including the office, business trips, flights and hotels around the world.

Something in the air: Even the smell of nuts is enough to send Yasmine Tornblad into anaphylactic shock. She can breathe easy now with Nano the poodle by her side - Europe's first trained 'nut sniffer dog'

'It has given me a bit of independence back so I’m not so worried about eating at friend’s houses or going on business trips anymore,' said Yasmine, from Malvern, Worcestershire.

'Normally when I stay at a hotel I start by cleaning out the room to be sure there is no contamination - now I have Nano to double-check. I can’t imagine life without him now.'

The clever pup has spent a year being trained by the charity Medical Detection Dogs, which is based in Milton Keynes, Bucks.

Nano can now detect nut odours in both food and the environment and at Yasmine’s work he will sniff them out on colleagues’ desks and in their drawers or handbags.

Puppy love: Yasmine - who has suffered over 20 anaphylactic shocks - says having the four-year-old doggie detective around has changed her life

'If a new laptop [bag] comes into the office I will put it on the floor and get Nano to sniff it to make sure it is free from nuts,' said Yasmine, who is in her 30s and works in IT.


'If he detects traces of nuts on it I then clean it or swap with someone else. Having Nano around has made my life so much easier.'
Yasmine first developed a nut allergy as a child and would react by getting swollen eyes and an itchy throat.

But the allergy appeared to disappear until suddenly on a business trip to China eight years ago she reacted and went into anaphylactic shock.


A few weeks later the same thing happened on a business trip to Germany and after attending an allergy clinic she discovered she was allergic to walnuts, cashew nuts and peanuts.

Since then she has gone into anaphylactic shock more than 20 times and often ended up in A&E.
 'I would usually take a tablet and if that didn’t work I would use an epipen or call an ambulance and go straight to hospital,' she said.
'I would always be super careful whenever I travelled and if friends invited me to dinner it was often easier not to go.'


Then two years ago she saw a programme on television about dogs in Canada who had been trained to sniff out peanuts and she started contacting UK charities to see if anyone could provide one.

'I heard back from Medical Detection Dogs who said they may be able to help and they linked me up with Nano. It was so exciting,' she said.

'He spent a year getting to know me and my office and home and then a further year being trained by the charity.

Nano spent a year getting to know Yasmine in her office and home then a further year being trained by the charity Medical Detection Dogs

'I would highly recommend a dog like Nano to anyone in the same position as me.'
Medical Detection Dogs has already paired up more than 30 dogs with people who have to manage a condition, like diabetes, so they can respond in an emergency.

It has also previously taught dogs to sniff out cancer and dogs can now pick out cancer samples from control samples.

Simone Brainch, from Medical Detection Dogs, said it has already had enquiries from people with similar stories to Yasmine.

She added: 'The difference it can make to a client who is suffering from a condition like this is very exciting.'