Diabetes Alert Dogs
The March 2008 issue of the ADA's Diabetes Forecast has an article on dogs trained to sense a low (or in some cases a high) blood sugar in their owners and alert them before signs are apparent - especially during sleep.
It's a relatively new use for alert animals so there aren't many organizations yet with trained dogs ready to place. Debra Manzella, over at About.com: Diabetes, in her post, Hypo Dogs to the Rescue! lists a few groups that provide alert dogs for people with diabetes, primarily type 1. I've listed them below along with another I found.
Dogs4Diabetics
Heaven Scent Paws
All Purpose Canines
PAWS For Diabetics (Australia)
You may also want to consider having your own dog trained. The organizations above are a good starting place.
News article:
Hypoglycemia Alert Dogs Offer Assistance to People with Diabetes
Photo of Hunter and her diabetes alert dog Diva from childrenwithDIABETES.com.
Posts
15 comments:
Heaven Sent Paws is a scam for money!!!!
My daughter is featured in the March issue of Diabetes Forecast magazine and we had done business with Heaven Scent Paws initially. And they are truly a scam. We have spoken with people all over the country who have gone home with dogs that don't alert (even though at class HSP staff try to make you believe they do) If you or anyone you know has been screwed by HSP please contact the Missouri Attorney Generals office and speak to Todd Bickel at 573-751-4022. You can see on the MO AG's website that there are multiple complaints against HSP and they are being investigated for consumer fraud.
I beleive the individual(s) that are writing these messages have something else going on. We graduated out of a class from Heaven Scent Paws along with many other clients. The dog that my son has received has alerted for both low and high bood sugar and numerous times she has alerted in a situation that would have been detremental. There is no exact science when you are working with an animal. As long as you use what you were taught and keep up with it there would be no reason to have a problem. Everything that is worth while in life takes time and work. There is nothing that comes easy. I am sorry to see that you have had a "bad" experiance, but I am sure if you followed thru with everything you woud have a different opinion on this company. Heaven Scent Paws has given my child a new outlook on life and has litterly "saved" it. I am eternaly greatful to Heaven Scent Paws. Thank You
HSP may have had sheer luck with a few dogs - dogs that were already trained when the recieved them. They themselves have no idea what they are doing. Show their training manual to a real dog trainer and they will tell you it's a joke. HSP dogs are not trained and some are even agressive towards people. I would advise extreme caution and much research (BBB, and the MO AG)before I would make any contact with HSP.
I have had contact with over 10 people in less then a year that received Service Dogs from Heaven Scent Paws and they are all alerting for both highs and lows. HSP is NOT a scam. Every business has to deal with all sorts of people and this one person seems like dealing with her issues publicly vs privately. Thank you HSP for all that you have done for our family.
My son received a dog from Heaven Scent Paws and this dog has saved my son from low bg seizures. It is not luck or scam. This company is great.
Can someone please tell me why my post was removed by the administrator? Thank you
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Personally, I think the discovery of the ability of dogs to pick up on low and high blood sugar is amazing. I got a dog from Dogs4Diabetics almost 2 years ago, and its always funny to me when people ask me if she's ever saved my life. I tell them every day.
I cannot imagine working with one of the other organizations, successful and amazing as they are, because I am a college student and would never have been able to afford one. D4D works really similarly to GDB and CCI in that they do not charge you anything for the dog. The only "cost" involved are an application and materials fee, which is minimal. Congrats to those of you who are lucky enough to share their life with such a wonderful dog, and fingers crossed that services will be available to everyone someday. :)
(and she alerts me when Im dropping between 120 and 80, and picks up highs around 220)
For the HSP supporters. There is more than 1 individual involved with the MO AG lawsuits (16 lawsuits), there are several people who have horror stories about HSP, including being removed from the class and not getting a refund on their money that was raised and donated. Yes I use the word donated but we all know that it is the cost and not a pure donation).
To the HSP naysayers ... yes, HSP has provided many dogs that do alert, regularly. Their training or just pure luck, I wouldn't know.
They are not totally bad and scamming but because of the trust that people place in them they shouldn't allow a single dog out of the class if it is not alerting all the time.
I believe all of their classes are 10 or 12 people/dogs. I also believe they have 3 or 4 classes a year. That could be as many as 45 - 50 dogs placed every year. Perhaps they should reorganize their training and train only a few dogs at a time ... better one on one dog training like the other trainers do.
I am interested in getting a diabetic alert dog for my 5 year old daughter. I have found a trainer that I have faith in; however I received an email from someone who has an alert dog (not for a long period of time) she loves her dog but she wrote me 4 pages of all the pitfalls. I am making this decision for a 5 year old I need the straight scoop, according to her; my daughter would need to give up many of her activities, she would be almost attacked in stores because of people thinking that she did not need the dog, we couldn't go places in the rain, and we would need to adjust our schedule to accomodate hours of maintanance on the dog. I have always had dogs but she made it seem so incredibly difficult. Is it?
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