Hero Dog Protects Young Girl with Severe Allergy by Sniffing Out Peanuts

• At 4 years old, Natalie Rice’s daughter was diagnosed with a life-threatening allergy to peanuts and other peanut products.
• Natalie found a golden retriever pup named Harley who can detect and alert humans to the presence of peanuts in food.
• Harley has saved Natalie’s daughter from potentially life-threatening conditions and his detective works can be seen on @detectiveharleyfadd on Instagram.

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Ten years ago, Natalie Rice, 45, discovered that her daughter had a life-threatening allergy to peanut butter.

When she fed her a small spoon of peanut butter, her then 4-year-old daughter became itchy and red, prompting a visit to her pediatrician who confirmed that she had a severe peanut allergy.

Everything with peanuts is a no-no and must be avoided even in trace amounts. A bullying incident connected with her daughter’s allergy made her decide to get an allergen-detection dog.

Enter Harley — then a three-month-old golden retriever pup who underwent training to sniff out peanuts.  He started by detecting the peanut and then alerting his human to its presence.

When Harley is “up to it”, Harley does regular training sessions with Natalie to keep him sharp.

With their 100 million scent receptors in their noses, dogs can detect even the traces of ingredients. As per the American Kennel Club, humans can smell chocolate chips but they can smell the individual ingredients like flour, eggs, and chocolate.

Harley inspects and checks any food that the daughter would eat, especially those without clear labels.

Harley has given Natalie’s daughter freedom. Natalie said, “Before Harley, we were always wondering if food was safe or if people were taking food allergies seriously.”

When he is not doing detective work, Harley enjoys being a dog and gets lots of time being with his brother Joey.

Harley shows his skills on his Instagram account @detectiveharleyfadd where his mom raises awareness on the dangers of food allergies and cross-contact. Natalie hopes that through this account, others will be able to understand and accept people who have to take precautions to avoid suffering from a life-threatening allergy.

Good job, Harley!

Here’s a video of how dogs like Harley are helping save kids with life-threatening allergies.

Source: People