I'm 14 years old with Type 1. I'm getting a Diabetes service dog in 4 months, and super excited! I don't know if anyone on here has one, but if so, I'd love to hear your stories!!
Good for you! You are so lucky to get a dog who will not only help you, but be a new best buddy. I'll bet all your friends will be really jealous!
I have a Siberian Husky who acts as my therapy/service Dog. Ranger was never formally trained to do that, but ever since he was a puppy every time I'd have a low blood glucose he would start acting strange. He would "yip" and whine and after a few episodes of this it finally occurred to me that he knew when I was low even if I did not. Sometimes when I am home alone and having a really bad low he would give me moral support - curling up next to me, giving me a lick and smiling like only a doggie can. Just like every dog, he never gets mad with me, never nags (unless it is to go out) and all he needs is a little love and attention.
I hope that your new partner takes as good care of you as my Ranger the Wonder Dog does for me.
All the best,
Tom
I really think this is cool! I would love to have one myself. You will have to keep us all posted on your new friend and companion! YOu may the first one on this forum to get such a wonderful gift!
Hi. Actually there are a few service dogs on TuD. Here is one: http://www.tudiabetes.org/group/diabetesalertdogs/forum/topics/norm.... You might also find other interesting reading on our group, Diabetes Alert Dogs. Congratulations!
I just found out about these dogs and would love to get one for each of my kids. I wish you much luck with your dog. Where are you getting it from?
I have no experience, but I think that it is AWESOME! :) Whenever my daughter has ketones or is having a bad diabetes day, our dog is stuck to her like glue. BUT, that being said, when she changes her pod or checks her sugar, the dog barks to go outside! LOL
How wonderful!! I hope I can find someone in our area so we can get one for our daughter too!
Oh man super exciting! Where are you getting your dog from? I'm on a waitlist with a program in Kansas, but I just applied in December and it's about a 2 year wait...I live by myself and am hypo-unaware so I am just biting my nails with anticipation! Finally I'll be able to go to the mall or a convention without being so so worried about loosing consciousness in the middle of a big crowd. I have a big list of all the stuff I'm gonna do once I get my dog that I've been too worried about to do alone, haha!
How awesome!! Dogs are just so amazingly smart. That's so cool that he picked up on it without training! Thanks so much, we're very excited. :) Good for Ranger, sounds like a great pup!
Thanks! It will be very cool, and I think the diabetes alert dogs will be catching on here. It's so amazing what they can do, I'm sure they'll become more popular. :)
Oh that's awesome! I will definitely be taking a look at that. Thanks!!
Woah! I have never heard of a cat doing this! I can't even believe it! I've heard of the dogs that train themselves, but never a cat. That is amazing! Best of luck!
Yes, I think it is an amazing thing that every diabetic should have. Especially kids. Since I will begin driving in a couple of years, my mom is very excited about my dog being there to tell me when I'm low while on the road. He'll be a great gift. We are getting him from CARES Inc. They are based in Kansas and are a awesome, smaller organization. A bit less expensive because of that. We've had a great experience with them so far. Anyone who can do it definitely should, in my opinion. Here's their website if you're interested- http://caresks.com/ . Good luck!!
Oh I so do feel bad for the ketones. I've had a few recent experiences with that lately, one of which involving a hospital trip. Otherwise I keep great control. But I can totally understand the not so fun part of that. Dogs are great for that! Little fluff buddies! :) That's awesome!
Yes, everyone that can get one should! If you're interested, I'm getting mine from CARES Inc. Here's their website- http://caresks.com/ . You do have to travel to get the dog, but I think it is so worth it. In many ways. Good luck!!
Oh wow! Oh my gosh!! I believe we are getting our dogs from the same place! That's so cool! CARES? There's not much in Kansas, so I'd imagine it's the same place. How exciting! I can't imagine being hypo-unaware. I am coming up on my 10th anniversary of being diagnosed, and I can tell I'm not catching lows as quickly. I do feel your pain. The freedom will be unbelievable with your new dog! That's so exciting! I'm extremely lucky to have the control I have thus far. I feel so bad for people that are in situations were they have a major disadvantage with diabetes. Just not fair! I can imagine that you're super excited about the dog! Assuming it's from CARES, which breed did you pick? I chose a male lab. :) Wahoo!
Wow. That's just amazing. And super cool! I have had several cats, but they've all been mostly interested in naps and snacks. Love them though! Sounds like you have some special little ones. :)
It sounds like Miss Kitka enjoys her little kitty life very much! It seems like you're talking about a little kid instead of a cat, haha! That's awesome! My cat is rather spoiled as well. He actually has a Twitter page. :) Assuming that is Miss Kitka in your profile pic, she's a cutie!
It is CARES! That's so awesome :D Have you gone through the interview yet? I've been reading blogs posts and looking at pictures of other teams from there trying to gauge what the process and team training is going to be like. People seem to be really happy with their dogs from there. I'm super excited and also a little nervous! You'll have to fill me in on meeting your dog and your week of training!
I picked a male german shepherd with a golden retriever as my second choice. They told me they get germans sometimes but hadn't had one in the program for a while, so if I didn't want to wait even longer I should pick a second choice just in case. So it's going to be a bit of a surprise I think! I would be fine with either as long as his personality fits mine!
That's so cool! Well, I was also under the impression that there was an interview process, but a couple of weeks ago we got a call saying that we will be going through the classes Aug. 6-10. So it wasn't exactly an interview. I've been doing the same! I've looked at everything I can find of theirs. If you have a Facebook, there are two pages of Cares. The "Mid-South CARES Support Group" has the most pictures. So exciting! Oh German Shepherds are beautiful dogs. He is going to be an amazing gift. I'm sure you're as thrilled as I am!! I, as well, can't wait until going and seeing the whole procedure. I'm friends with one girl on Facebook who's my age. She got her dog a couple of years ago (The dog is a black lab named Denali) and they did some neat stuff while in Kansas. Went to a nursing home to visit the people there with the dogs, went to meet some of the inmates that trained a couple of the dogs, and took them all to the mall for an outing. So awesome! I'd love to continue talking to you, as we both go through the SO exciting journey! ;)