Penn Vet seeking volunteers for COVID-19 detection dog T-shirt study

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- If you need a reason to skip the laundry here it is.

The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Working Dog Center is asking people for their sweaty T-shirts.

Researchers want to know if dogs can detect odors associated with COVID-19.

"Help us prove dogs can sniff out COVID-19!" a message reads on the Center's website.

They are specifically looking for people who have been tested in the past 48-hours or are going to be tested.

If you are interested, they will ship you a shirt and the return supplies.

The "T-shirt study" involves dogs being trained to discriminate between the odors of COVID-positive, -negative, and -vaccinated individuals based on the volatile organic compounds they leave on a T-shirt worn overnight, according to an Penn Vet article.

"We are collecting many more samples in that study - hundreds or more - than we did in (a) first one, and are hopeful that will get the dogs closer to what they might encounter in a community setting," Cynthia Otto, director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center, said.

Click this link to see if you are eligible to participate.

You will have to fill out a survey that includes 17 questions.