Early disease detection vision progressing
On 17 February 2026 we were privileged to host Pauline Blomfield, Founder and Chief Executive of K9 Medical Detection NZ (K9MD).
More than 50 people attended, including community partners, members from other Invercargill clubs, representatives from local organisations, and members of the public who were keen to learn more about this remarkable work.
Pauline shared the powerful story behind establishing K9MD and its bold vision: to revolutionise early disease detection through highly trained medical alert dogs.
Their goal is to develop a simple, non‑invasive urine test for the early detection of cancer, harnessing the extraordinary scenting abilities of dogs to support life‑saving research and improve health outcomes for New Zealanders.
Pauline highlighted the frightening statistics that underline the urgency of this work:
- 23 New Zealanders die from bowel cancer every week
- 650 men lose their lives to prostate cancer every year
- Every 48 hours, one New Zealand woman dies from ovarian cancer
Early detection dramatically improves treatment success and survival rates, and K9MD is working at the forefront of this effort.
Their dogs are trained at Invermay in Mosgiel to detect bowel, prostate, and ovarian cancers.
Breed is not a determining factor — dogs are selected for their temperament, focus, and ability to work.
Pauline also gave us a glimpse into the dogs’ daily lives. The K9MD dogs are enthusiastic “employees”, hopping onto their work bus each day and enjoying a healthy balance of training, detection work, and plenty of fun. They live either with K9MD staff or with carefully chosen foster families who support their development.
K9MD is a registered charitable trust and receives no government funding.
Pauline spoke candidly about the costs involved in running such a specialised programme and the growing need for community support.
Conversations were started in the room about how Rotary might be able to assist further.
For those wishing to support K9MD directly, donations can be made here:
https://www.k9md.org.nz/help-us/support-k9md