Detecting toxic mold in homes with trained dog is unique Molalla business model
When you take a shot of this “Whiskey,” it is most definitely for your own, better health.
Meet Whiskey, a German Shepherd who does a job so unique and critical, that you probably didn’t know this task was “a thing.”
But thanks to the efforts of Molalla’s Shannon Rowe, inspired by her aunt and uncle, Whiskey is making homes healthier and happier.
Molalla’s Shannon Rowe and her dog, Whiskey, underwent rigorous training and certification to form a potent toxic mold detection team – and start a business along the way in D&G Detection. (Courtesy photo: Shannon Rowe)
You see, Whiskey is a toxic mold dog and when he points to spots in a home, you can just about bet your bottom dollar there’s toxic mold involved. And that’s a health hazard.
Rowe, who owns D&G Detection as part of D&G Training in Molalla, said that Whiskey’s true talent, her true gift, is that she can sniff out toxic mold like nobody’s business.
Rowe has been a dog trainer for more than 30 years and Whiskey is a certified toxic mold detection dog. Together, they are a certified team, recognized by two nationally respected working dog certification organizations.
So, when they’re on the job, it matters.
“Whiskey came to me from the Slovak Republic, and last May we completed a rigorous 120-hour detection course,” said Rowe. “Whiskey graduated top of her class and now works alongside me to provide critical insights into where toxic mold is hiding.”
The issue is fairly wide-spread, and often undetected, with warm summers and wet winters in the Pacific Northwest. Homes can offer toxic mold an attractive place to flourish.
Dogs sniffing out toxic mold is certainly a niche business model, so much so that Rowe said she’s unaware of another mold dog in Oregon, with maybe one in Washington and California. But she’s finding out it’s an important model that speaks to something vitally important – people’s health.
For Rowe, dogs have been a passion for a long time.
As one of seven children raised by her dad, she was the only sibling that had an interest in her uncle’s passion for dogs and dog training.
Uncle Darby (and aunt Gracy) were huge influences on Rowe’s life, and when the desire to learn about training dogs started to flourish, the connection only increased.
Things really began to come together in 2014 when she formed the nonprofit Darby and Gracy’s Dog Rescue to honor her aunt and uncle. All that followed sprung from that decision.
“When I was pretty young, uncle Darby had a leash in my hands and I think that he was tickled by that,” Rowe said.
As a young adult, Rowe was also a figure skater, having skated with Tonya Harding and for the Ice Capades, but the allure of working with dogs kept calling. And she eventually answered, asking her uncle if he’d help her train her first dog.
“I liked it, so I asked him if I could shadow him and become a dog trainer, too,” she said.
As time moved forward, her aunt and uncle passed, but the lessons they instilled remained. So much so that as Rowe and her husband opened their own training facility in Molalla, they wanted to honor all that had been learned through Darby and Gracie, so named it D&G Training.
When Covid hit, there was a flood of requests for dogs, but when things settled down two-plus years later, the opposite occurred – people were getting rid of their dogs. Fortunately, Rowe’s facility had grown and they were able to take in some of those unwanted animals.
Whiskey during her training to detect toxic mold. (Courtesy photo: Shannon Rowe)
Caring for and finding good homes for the canine family have always been important to her. But it also led her to ponder what might be a broader application for her canine love.
“I knew that scent work was one area that could be interesting,” she said. “The police have specialty scent dogs, so I was wondering what else could be done. I just started researching mold and the toxicity of it. That’s where the adventure began. You can imprint any odor onto a dog.
“And Whiskey is very good at her craft,” Rowe added.
And so far, about nine months into this venture, Rowe said Whiskey has been busy. So busy, in fact, that very soon a second mold detection dog will be in the pipeline. Additionally, D&G Detection offers bed bug detection dogs that they can make available to hotels, BnBs, hostels, anything like that.
“It all kind of circled back to the things my uncle had taught me,” she said. “We’re also getting a lot of interest from naturopaths who are treating people with toxic mold issues. That’s been interesting as well.”
If you’re wondering about your mold status and want Whiskey to stop by for a sniff, check out the website at DandGDogs.com/mold-detection or email to shannon@dandgrescue.org. D&G Training and D&G Detection are housed at 12095 S. Barbara Way in Molalla.