Some people may choose for whatever reason not to have their dog accompany them for a hospital stay or on a trip, rather than the dog “not being allowed”.
Forgive my Saturday night brain…CHO content?
Hi Kristi,
I’m happy to hear of your daughter’s experience with the hospital’s liberal allowance for service dogs. My original thoughts here were in the operating room or any spot that requires an ultra-clean environment (maybe a burn unit). I suspect that any person with a service dog will need to do a fair amount of educating of hospital staff and many others in society. Good comment.
I expect to receive a diabetic alert dog this week.
Terry
Oh, sorry, this never occured to me. My daughter takes her dog everywhere with her so I never think of someone not wanting to do the same. LOL!
Actually, the nurses were very excited to have the dog - helped them with their job! We don’t let him go into x-ray with her, though, for his own protection.
Congratulations on your dog!! It’s so exciting and I can’t wait to hear more!
Terry, I’m anxious to hear about your new dog!! What kind of dog did you get? How are things going? Can you give an update about your experience? Thanks!!
Kristi,
Thanks for your interest. I am in the second week of a two-week (11 training days) course at the Dogs for Diabetics training facility in Concord, California. The training is thorough, fun, and exhausting. I’ll write more when the training is over; it ends this Friday, April 2.
They placed with me a beautiful two-year old male yellow Lab named Norm. Norm is playful, energetic, and has a great nose for falling blood sugars. His alert is determined and sustained.
I plan to sail my live-aboard sailboat this Saturday from a marina near the D4D training center back to my home port in the south San Francisco Bay. Norm will be sporting a new dog flotation jacket from RuffWear. (I have no affiliation or commercial interest in this firm.) RuffWear gives a substantial discount to service dog owners.
I’ll write more as my life settles down into a more normal routine. Norm is a great dog and I look forward to building a strong bond with him.
Terry
Kristi, I’m writing an article about diabetes alert dogs for Diabetes Health and would love to talk to you if I can. Would you be available for an email or phone interview?
Thanks!
I have a Diabetic alert dog named Dutchess and she is truly a blessing. She is really an aggressive alerter. I did have an incident last week i was just too weak to get my glucose tabs and test kit but Dutchess was trained to retreive them for me. My roommates were not home like they normally would be. Im not sure what i would have done. I couldnt reach my cellphone either. So having her was a lifesaver.
I was really fortunate that i was properly matched with the right dog. I walked into the Kennel and I saw her for the first time and i knew i loved her and she loved me. She is so sweet and truly loves working. I just can’t say enough about my dog she makes my life so much easier everyday. Spending two years with hypoglycemia unawareness and not finding anything to help catch my lows she has changed my life in a postive direction. She actually currently attend college with me and has impressed everyone so much that i now am doing speaking events with Dutchess on campus about diabetic alert dogs.
Terry congratulations on getting Norm. Im sure you are loving him already. Im sure you will bond with him quite quickly. I know i did with my dog. Im glad to hear more people are able to get diabetic alert dogs.
Tarra, Can I interview you about this topic? I’m writing an article for Diabetes Health about alert dogs.
Thanks!
Amy
I would love to help out Amy. I know i feel so blessed just to have my service dog.
Great! Thank you. Do you prefer to talk on the phone or should I send you questions via email?
I am open to either way. What ever would make things easier for you.
can I call you right now? Just to get some basic info?
Sure, no problem at all. I’d love to help out. Just PM me and I’ll send you my email and/or phone number - whatever its best for you.
Yes, we love dogs and have always had one or two. I was told that obtaining these dogs requires much training and the training is ongoing. Also told the dog must be with the person 24/7 in order to be effective. I would love an alert dog for my niece but she does not want to take the dog with her everywhere. Having a DAD trained and working the “night shift” is ideal because this is the time of greatest danger. If a trainer would work with us and allow us to obain a DAD under those circumstances, we would be extremely interested.
Tara, thanks for the good wishes. It sounds like you have a great partner in Dutchess.
I’ve been with Norm for over six months now. It has been a life-changing experience. I’ve never had a dog before and I’m enjoyed his company immensely. Norm’s hypo alert skills are getting better every week. He now is waking me up at night so that I can treat low blood sugars in a timely fashion. Things are going well with my diabetes control - finally!
I’ve been as high as 8.5% in my A1c in the last few years. It was quite a struggle to lower that number. I just got word from my doctor that my last A1c was 6.0%. I’m thrilled and give Norm a good portion of the credit. I’m so lucky to have him.
You’re right about the bond that grows with your dog. He often knows what I want before I give him a command. It makes living with him a pleasure. Good luck with your continuing success with Dutchess.
Hey Terri,
I know i have always struggled with my blood sugars as well. I have the dawn phenomenon which makes things complicated. I actually didn’t realize i was having lows around midnight to 1 am area until i got Dutchess she has alerted to my lows at night since day one which is great. Norm sounds like a great partner.
Glad to hear your A1c has improved so much that is wonderful. Keep up the good work.
Is there a Canadian affiliation for D4D?
Very interested in having an alert dog, but only part time. I, too, would be interested in having the dog work the night shift for our teen. The dogs are very expensive and a lot of the trainers insist you need to keep the dog with you everywhere in order for them to be effective. I don’t believe this as the same process is used for the explosive, cadaver and drug alert dogs. These dogs work shifts. I know that training is ongoing and it does take a commitment to continually work with your dog. I would love to have one of these dogs for our teen when she goes off to college. However, I do know she would love the dog but not want to take it with her everywhere so must learn more about the “night shift” use of the dog. The difference between having a dog and using cgms is that you can easily sleep through a cgms alarm. A dog will keep nudging you to wake you up and they can even be trained to push a button on the phone to call 911 if their owner does not respond. The dog is more like a guardian than an inanimate device. The dog cares about the owner, feels responsible for the owner. A cgms is an inanimate object.