Peanut Pup Sniffs Out Normal Life for Boy

All dogs have powerful noses, but some canines are saving lives with their heightened sense of smell.

"Early Show" resident veterinarian Dr. Debbye Turner Bell shared the story of a Tampa, Fla., family whose dog, Remy, is trained to sniff for any trace of peanuts to help his 9-year-old severely allergic owner, Billy Gensel, live a normal life.

Billy is one of the nearly two million Americans who have an allergy to peanuts, Bell reported, but Billy's allergy was acute, keeping him from many activities.

"I couldn't go to the carnivals. I couldn't go to the hotel rooms. I couldn't do some restaurants," he said. "It was really, really harsh."

But that all changed when Remy, a black Labrador retriever joined the family. Remy is trained to detect even the smallest trace of peanuts in food and the environment.

"Without Remy, I probably wouldn't be here right now," Billy said. "...She saves my life every day."

When Billy came into contact with anything with the tiniest amount of peanuts on it, he would have an allergic reaction, and could have been sent into a potentially fatal anaphylactic shock.

Billy's mother Karen said, "My job was to follow him around at a distance where I knew I could get to him with an EpiPen, if he touched something and all of a sudden he was touching his throat or couldn't breathe."

But now, Remy can smell anything in a room that may have peanuts on it and warns his owner. Bell reported Remy sniffs everything and everyone Billy may touch.

Dogs like Remy, Bell reported can be trained to sniff for peanuts in about six months. Each dog costs about $10,000.

But the price was worth it for the Gensels.

"I feel like Remy and the people who trained her are heroes," Billy said.

"This dog has changed our life," Karen said. "This dog is a brand new life. A totally different life. Of normal. It's a life of normal, and for us that's a really big deal."

Two centers are training these dogs to sniff for peanuts, according to Bell, the Florida Canine Academy and the Southern Star Ranch.

Bell added dogs have a real health and therapy application now, with the ability to sniff out certain life-threatening illnesses, such as epilepsy and cancer.