Massachusetts police department introduces nation's 1st COVID-sniffing K-9's

MASSACHUSETTS (WABC) -- Two dogs in Massachusetts are now the nation's first K-9's trained in COVID detection.

The 9-month-old Labradors are stepsiblings and work for the Bristol County Sheriff's Office.

Experts say the dogs are so advanced in their training that they can even pick up on different strains, including the more contagious Delta variant.

They can also smell the virus on a surface that was recently touched by a COVID positive person.

"Our training method for training the COVID is the same if we were training for firearms, explosives or narcotics or any kind of scent work," said K-9 Capt. Paul Douglass of the Bristol County Sheriff's Office.

Experts say the dogs were trained by using masks worn by COVID positive patients.

They say the masks were put under an ultraviolet system to kill the contagious portion of the virus.