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In the battle to find unhealthy mold in houses, a low-tech option is gaining favor among some homeowners: dogs with sensitive sniffers trained for hunting down the spores.

Bootz, a Labrador-Great Dane mix, one of about 40 mold-sniffing dogs in the U.S., works in northeastern Pennsylvania. He’s found mold behind Sheetrock … up in the ceiling,” said his handler and owner, Michelle Gerhard, of Shavertown, Pa. Her
company is called Pennsylvania Mold Dog.

Bootz is a graduate of a school in Clearwater, Fla., which rescues dogs from shelters and puts them through 1,000 hours of training to use their sharp sense of smell to find mold.

Dogs have been used to find mold for more than two decades in Europe, though they have been used more commonly in the U.S. to locate explosives and drugs.

So-called mold dogs offer a faster and cheaper alternative to other forms of mold detection. Commanded to “seek,” Bootz starts to sniff around. If he finds something, he sits. Commanded by Gerhard to “show me,” he often licks the spot — then gets a treat.

“It’s all a game to (him),'” Gerhard said.

The designated area is sampled and the sample is sent to a laboratory for analysis. An inspection for a 2,000-square-foot house costs $245.

The dog undergoes quarterly re-certification by the school.