Fri, September 19, 2003
Pup's nose like no other
Super-sleuth dog sniffs out moulds that make us sick
See Flip and Betty play. See Betty throw the ball. Run, Flip! Run! But Flip is not running. Flip has found some toxic stachybotrys, hidden and growing under the floor boards of Betty's new home. Run, Betty! Run! Over the years, we've grown used to highly trained canines sniffing out arson and bombs and drugs. Now there's a new super-sleuth canine with a wet nose. The Mould Dog. Quincy, a two-year-old yellow lab, was dropped off at a Florida humane society shelter more than a year ago. The pup was unwanted and disposable. Today, she's become Canada's first mould-detecting pooch -- a $20,000 panting marvel of genetics and training, which can pinpoint toxic moulds in schools, businesses and private homes. "She's like any other dog -- she just has a very unusual day job," says Quincy's handler, Frank Haverkate, who runs Haverkate and Associates Inc., a Toronto indoor, environmental testing firm. As her master talks, Quincy sprawls out on a hardwood floor at my feet. Occasionally, she sniffs the air -- as if my shoes might contain a health threat. Quincy is to mould what Lassie was to kids who would fall down wells in the '60s. A decade ago, the only mould any of us took seriously was forming on bread we grabbed to make toast. SICK AT HOME In recent years, the hidden fungi has had the power to close an entire criminal court in Newmarket, as well as cause a crisis in school portables in the province. Mould is also big business, as homeowners and office managers try to find out why those under their roof have become sick of staying indoors. It's not anthrax North American offices are testing for right now -- it's Sick Building Syndrome. An estimated 40 million people in Canada and the U.S. annually suffer from asthma, headaches, fatigue, depression, rashes and chronic flu-like symptoms, after spending their days sucking up moulds, pollutants and poisons coughed up by the walls around them. To traditionally help track down the hiding biological vermin, Haverkate would largely count on a $30,000 air-testing kit -- precise and complicated tools which sit in a nearby case. The devices are accurate, but can't specifically point out exact spots -- hidden behind walls or under floors or even in ceilings -- where mould has moved in. That's what Quincy does -- for a pat and a dog treat. HIDE-AND-SEEK "She's used to find hidden issues," says Haverkate, as he leans down to Quincy, who started her work earlier this month after being saved from the humane society, and trained at the Florida Canine Academy. The facility has traditionally trained drug and arson dogs for American agencies. "To us, it's a health concern. To her, it's a game of hide-and-seek," says Haverkate. "And she's happiest when she's playing." For homeowners, it's no game. In fact, none of Haverkate's residential clients wanted in tow when Quincy and Haverkate were making their rounds. So, instead, Quincy plays K9 P.I. in his master's own home, a 1960s Toronto bungalow. From a sniff of a single drop of urine, the average dog can identify another canine's sex, health, diet, emotional state and even if it's dominant or submissive. Researchers believe they sense smells as three dimensional odour models -- an image that's better than a photograph for a human. So Quincy -- after more than 1,000 hours of training -- has little trouble tracking down, and sitting, when she comes to two different suspect locations in Haverkate's own home. One is in the kitchen, near a place where a pipe once burst. The other is on the other side of a garage, that may have had some moisture problems. A trained arson dog can track a single drop of gasoline in the equivalent of a swimming pool of water. In all, Quincy can doggedly track down 18 species of toxic moulds. Back in our early readers, Betty could only have wished Flip was that smart.
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ELDERLY COUPLE
SUFFERS AFTER UNKNOWINGLY BUYING MOULD-FILLED HOUSE IN BRAMALEA
RAIDED BACK IN JUNE
By ALAN CAIRNS,
AN AILING
elderly couple who unwittingly bought a former marijuana grow
house could face $25,000 in bills to repair their mouldy new
Bramalea home. Urbano, 74, a retired hospital cleaner, needs a
cane to walk and suffers from asthma, diabetes and high blood
pressure.
His wife
Antoinetta, 70, has crippling arthritis and can barely walk. She
has had 13 operations for sinus problems and has high blood
pressure.
The couple
-- who asked that their last name not be used -- bought the
bungalow in September so they could move from
But, since
moving in, Urbano and Antoinetta have suffered various new
ailments, including constant headaches, sore throats, dizziness,
nosebleeds and exhaustion.
WEED LAB
They
learned after closing that the bungalow is a former marijuana
grow house. The Sun has confirmed the house was raided June 29
this year and that a sophisticated weed lab and 370 pot plants
were removed.
A mould
inspector two weeks ago verified that mould is on the
floorboards, in the furnace vents and in the attic.
Now, they
are trying to figure out who knew what and when.
"This is a
disgrace," said the couple's daughter, Maria Kanga.
"When you
breathe in these (mould) spores you cannot see them. It is like
fighting a ghost. You think you live in a nice home and you are
actually being (harmed) by what you are breathing."
Kanga is
appalled at her parents' predicament.
The seller
asked $269,000 for the corner-lot house, which was listed by
realtor Sandy Kennedy of Re/Max Realty Services Inc., located in
Kennedy
told the Sun he had done nothing wrong.
He said
that prior to the sale, the vendors declared under oath it had
not been a grow house. He said a reputable home inspector found
nothing wrong with the property in a pre-sale exam.
Kanga said
her parents believed the home was "perfect" because it was on a
quiet court, had a wheelchair access ramp and an electric
elevator to the basement.
Kanga and
her parents told their realtor and family friend, Robert Harvey,
of
"When we
walked into the house, what we saw was a fairly updated and
renovated house that looked in good condition. Above and beyond
that, we also saw a house that fitted their needs because it was
wheelchair accessible,"
The seller
ultimately agreed to a price of $263,900. The elderly couple
went in with an offer of a $10,000 down payment, a cash payment
upon closing and agreed to an early closing date.
SWORE UNDER
OATH
Kanga's
parents inked the deal Sept. 26 and moved in Oct. 8.
Kanga said
her parents were clueless about the home's past use until her
dad met a neighbour and was told that Peel Regional Police had
raided the home in June.
When she
called Kennedy after the closing, Kanga said he initially told
her to ignore "nosy" neighbours.
Kanga said
she called police, who confirmed the bust. She then hired mould
expert Frank Haverkate. His mould-sniffing dog,
Haverkate,
who did an environmental inspection and tests at the house, said
although visual evidence of mould appears not to be severe, a
laser-particle counter found high amounts of debris in the air,
which he said he believes are residual mould spores from a
"botched clean-up job."
Haverkate
said while air samples are still being analysed, he estimates it
could cost up to $25,000 to clean up the home.
Kennedy,
the real estate agent for the seller, denies any wrongdoing,
saying he is "99.9% sure I did absolutely nothing wrong and I
(sold the house) by the code, by the rules."
Kennedy
said the seller swore under oath and "swore up and down" the
home was not a marijuana grow house.
"I have a
written declaration from my owner. I have it in writing, signed
and notarized," Kennedy said.
Kennedy
said Harvey made two mistakes when he neglected to write into
the offer the following two conditions: 1) the home must pass an
inspection, and 2) the seller must declare the home was never
used as a grow house.
Kennedy
said Harvey had a fiduciary duty to protect his client, while
"my fiduciary duty was to protect my client."
"(Harvey)
was a family friend. He came in, put this deal together in 24
hours ... wham, bam, thank you ma'am," Kennedy said.
Kennedy
acknowledged the seller's denials that the home was a grow house
came after an earlier purchase offer.
"(The
seller) vehemently denied that it ever was (a grow house) and
gave me a written declaration that it wasn't," Kennedy said.
"The agent's job for the buyer is to confirm that (the)
information is accurate and to put the appropriate clauses in
the offer to protect his buyer. That's all I need to go on."
Kennedy
said a pre-sale inspection was done by a reputable Brampton home
inspector who "doesn't think it was a marijuana grow house."
Kennedy
said he has a copy of that inspection report. He seemed certain
the issue is headed for court and said he would be happy to
present his evidence at that time. He said the seller would
"probably respond" in court.
Harvey, the
couple's real-estate agent, said it would not have mattered if
he had put a grow house declaration clause into the offer.
"What am I
going to get ... a vendor who is going to lie to me? I can write
that clause 27 days a week and it doesn't make any difference
... (the seller) is still going to deny it."
Harvey said
Kanga and her parents want to keep the property, but they want
the sellers to pay for a proper cleanup.
The Sun
talked with three neighbours, each of whom claims to have
independently told Re/Max agents when the house was up for sale
that it had been a grow-op.
One woman
said she asked an agent -- who was not Kennedy -- how they hoped
to sell the home, given its history and agent-disclosure
obligations. She said that agent told her that there are times
when "we do not have to disclose," and then gave her the
brush-off.
One man
said when he called Kennedy about the house, he said Kennedy
told him it was not a grow house. The man and his wife say they
argued to the contrary, telling Kennedy they saw police remove
lights and bags and that the owners later had arranged for a
vacuum truck to take out soil.
A third
neighbour said he confronted an open-house agent -- who was not
Kennedy -- and asked him, "Did you know this was a grow house?"
"He said,
'I don't know that,' " the neighbour said.
"I said,
'You know now ... and Sandy (Kennedy) should know, and you
should know that this was busted by police.'"
But the
neighbour said the open-house agent "didn't seem to be that
interested."
Kennedy
said the above statements from the three neighbours "aren't
true," and if the couple who bought the house had been "done
wrong," then he is "disappointed."
Kennedy
said he is "more than happy" to go to court "and show that we
did our due diligence at our end.
"And I think that the facts will show that ... that we did everything by the book, by the rule, to the T."
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