Well, it just might look like a
sleeping dog.
Type 1 Diabetes is a
silent killer. Parents of Type 1
children are particularly vulnerable to the horrors and ravages of the disease
when they watch their children head off to bed each night. Heart in throat, sweaty palms, they hold
their breath, set their alarms and just like any gambling endeavor, they hope
the numbers will be good. A good number
means they can go to sleep. Either too
high or too low (both are dangerous) means a night of staying up, waiting and
watching, poking little fingers with needles to test.
Enter a Diabetic Alert Dog (DAD). Fairly new to the service dog scene, DADs are
trained to tell their person with an alert when their blood sugar is out of
bounds … either too high or too low. And
they’re typically on it some 20-40 minutes before the diabetic feels it or the
glucose monitor rings an alarm.
So what about that sleeping dog? As one mom put it … “my daughter slipped off
to sleep in the middle of family movie night.
And, because her DAD was snoozing peacefully by her side … I knew it
wasn’t a coma … just a nap. Knowing her
DAD was on duty, my heart rate never changed.”
Diabetic Alert Dogs are becoming a
more accepted tool in the treatment of Type 1 diabetes and hypoglycemic
unawareness. And because of that, and
like anything that’s new and good, there are predators who take advantage of
vulnerable families and moms who only want their children to wake up in the
morning. On the flip side, there are
some awesome organizations that are doing great work, and some remarkable
trainers who “get it”.
Looking to bring a DAD into your
life? Do your homework. Ask Questions. Lots of Questions. Get lots of answers. Confused?
Don’t know what to ask? Start here. Then come on back to Service Dog 411 to get
started on your journey.
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