Kate and Gerry have both publicly contested the cadaver alerts?

[Brietta]

but that is not what happened last night.  Instead staff cleaned up the body in bed, called the relatives and we had to wait for them to arrive to see the body, stay with it and grieve for as long as they wished, all while we were lying in our beds with curtains around us, in the middle of the night.  Porters arrived laughing and joking at 6am to take the corpse away.

I have googled "body left in ward" and there are several recent examples.

That is a spot on example of how easily cadaver scent might be transferred without the carrier even being aware of having had any contact.
From what I have read, direct contact wouldn't have been necessary to cause a trained dog to react to the scent which permeates through everything nearby. 

I feel for everyone involved in the very distressing situation you and the other patients found yourselves in. Particularly the relatives given no privacy to grieve and say their goodbyes.

[Brietta]

Did you say they normally leave a body in a ward overnight for relatives to grieve over whilst other patients are lying in their beds?  Sorry I missed that bit.

I've not heard of that before.  Doesn't appear to cover 'dignity in death' does it? 

However the fact that such a situation did occur gives food for thought concerning cadaver scent and its transference in relation to a false positive alert by a cadaver dog.

[Carana]

I had an interesting but upsetting experience last night - I am currently in hospital and last night one of the other patients in my small ward went into cardiac arrest and died at 10.30pm.  Their body lay in the ward overnight with us, and was removed at 6am this morning.  That means there are 5 individuals (all from different backgrounds and careers) in here whose possessions and selves would now cause a cadaver dog to alert if they were subject to its sniffing.  Presumably if I go home next week and (god forbid) my son disappears and they bring the cadaver dogs in, all noses will be pointing at me and my stuff.

Sorry to hear you're even in hospital, let alone going through that experience. 

[Vertigo Swirl]

Sorry to hear you're even in hospital, let alone going through that experience. 

Thanks Carana. It's been 12 days now so far - didn't share this anecdote for sympathy though, honest!

[G-Unit]

I had an interesting but upsetting experience last night - I am currently in hospital and last night one of the other patients in my small ward went into cardiac arrest and died at 10.30pm.  Their body lay in the ward overnight with us, and was removed at 6am this morning.  That means there are 5 individuals (all from different backgrounds and careers) in here whose possessions and selves would now cause a cadaver dog to alert if they were subject to its sniffing.  Presumably if I go home next week and (god forbid) my son disappears and they bring the cadaver dogs in, all noses will be pointing at me and my stuff.

I don't see how it can be so easy to spread. Nurses, ward staff, patients and visitors would all be spreading the scent constantly. I can't see that happening otherwise it would be a waste of time and money training cadaver dogs.

[Mr Gray]

I don't see how it can be so easy to spread. Nurses, ward staff, patients and visitors would all be spreading the scent constantly. I can't see that happening otherwise it would be a waste of time and money training cadaver dogs.

All your opinion and wrong in my opinion
The value of cadaver dogs is in the evidence they find
The ease of cross contamination.... Remember the old furniture  in the Shannon Mathews, case is why the, alerts are not evidential without forensic confirmation

[Brietta]

I don't see how it can be so easy to spread. Nurses, ward staff, patients and visitors would all be spreading the scent constantly. I can't see that happening otherwise it would be a waste of time and money training cadaver dogs.

So no cadaver scent then?  OK.

[Vertigo Swirl]

I don't see how it can be so easy to spread. Nurses, ward staff, patients and visitors would all be spreading the scent constantly. I can't see that happening otherwise it would be a waste of time and money training cadaver dogs.

So, despite the fact that I spent 7 hours lying approximately 10 feet from a corpse, you don't think there's any likelihood that me or my possessions would have been impregnated with this scent? 

[faithlilly]

but that is not what happened last night.  Instead staff cleaned up the body in bed, called the relatives and we had to wait for them to arrive to see the body, stay with it and grieve for as long as they wished, all while we were lying in our beds with curtains around us, in the middle of the night.  Porters arrived laughing and joking at 6am to take the corpse away.

I have googled "body left in ward" and there are several recent examples.

Sorry to hear you are in hospital VS.

As to the unfortunate individual who died, we are all agreed that what happened on your ward isn’t ‘normal’ and if it had been the cause of the alerts in 5a wouldn’t it be yet another of those very unfortunate ‘coincidences’ ?

[jassi]

So no cadaver scent then?  OK.

All down to exposure times I expect.
If a corpse laid in the bed for 7 hours then the mattress will be heavily contaminated as would be any bed sheets.
Handling a corpse for a couple of minutes wearing cloves might result in no transfer contamination at all.
Not sure if air in the room can be contaminated.

[jassi]

So, despite the fact that I spent 7 hours lying approximately 10 feet from a corpse, you don't think there's any likelihood that me or my possessions would have been impregnated with this scent?

Probably not if you haven't been in physical contact, but better get yourself checked out by Dr Canine at the earliest opportunity and then you can update us all.

[Vertigo Swirl]

Probably not if you haven't been in physical contact, but better get yourself checked out by Dr Canine at the earliest opportunity and then you can update us all.

If you could let me know who or what you're talking about that would be helpful - Dr Canine?  Is that supposed to be funny?

[Vertigo Swirl]

Sorry to hear you are in hospital VS.

As to the unfortunate individual who died, we are all agreed that what happened on your ward isn’t ‘normal’ and if it had been the cause of the alerts in 5a wouldn’t it be yet another of those very unfortunate ‘coincidences’ ?

What are all the other very unfortunate coincidences?  Remember, most of them (if I'm correct) are merely suppositions to explain possible anomalies, and most may be completely irrelevant in any case - they don't all need to have occurred in order for the alleged abduction to have occurred, perhaps a thread to discuss all the unfortunate coincidences as you perceive them?  My experience last night was to show how 5 random people can suddenly find themselves exposed to a cadaver and to ask whether or not being in the same room as one for 7 hours would cause a dog to alert to them or their possessions.  As for it being an uncommon event, well I've now read of several similar cases and that's just the ones that made the papers.  This one won't I very much doubt.  No one here seemed that surprised or shocked by it either. 

PS: thanks for your kind words at the start of your post.

[barrier]

I had an interesting but upsetting experience last night - I am currently in hospital and last night one of the other patients in my small ward went into cardiac arrest and died at 10.30pm.  Their body lay in the ward overnight with us, and was removed at 6am this morning.  That means there are 5 individuals (all from different backgrounds and careers) in here whose possessions and selves would now cause a cadaver dog to alert if they were subject to its sniffing.  Presumably if I go home next week and (god forbid) my son disappears and they bring the cadaver dogs in, all noses will be pointing at me and my stuff.

Hope the recovery go's well,but Jeez what are you doing spending time on here,what am I missing? Relieves the boredom one supposes.

[jassi]

If you could let me know who or what you're talking about that would be helpful - Dr Canine?  Is that supposed to be funny?

One of the cadaver dogs, of course. If they don't react, then you haven't been contaminated.