The K9 Handler Team at work
View the above video to see a K9 Mold Inspection in action!
Here we have the K9 Handler Paul Hewitt working Kody in an inspection of a warehouse and its contents. As you can see, Paul as the handler guides Kody through her work keeping her on task in seeking out the areas for mold. As Kody moves along, when she comes across one of the 18 genus' of mold she was trained on, she will give a passive alert (a sit). Then the handler asks her to 'show me' which indicates her to point out the source of the mold odor she has found. She is then rewarded with some food which is her sole motivation for completing her task. A Mold Dog's nose is so sensitive, it is capable of finding mold down to parts per trillion. Once mold is found, air samples would be taken and sent to a certified laborataory to be analyzed for the type(s) of mold discovered and detailed in a comprehensive report.
Here Kody alerts to a mold odor on the refridgator in storage. This appliance could have developed mold in a couple of ways. It could have been in an area of a house that had recently been part of a water intrusion (water pipe break, water main break in the area, flooding). Another way the refrigerator could have mold is that the condensation from the fridge or a leak from an ice maker could cause mold to develop.
Carpeting is one of the biggest residential items that collect and retain mold after a water intrusion. In this picture, Kody shows Paul where she has found the mold on a carpet that was removed from a house. This carpet would need to be extensively cleaned before being returned to the home.
