- PHILADELPHIA - Bob Maher's
diabetes was shutting his body down. He no longer got the shakes or the
sweats to warn him that his blood sugar was plummeting. Instead, he would
just pass out.
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- It made him scared to drive, to be alone, even to sleep.
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- Chewie's going to change all that. The two-year-old dog,
an auburn Labrador mix named after the Star Wars character Chewbacca, has
the ability to detect changes in Mr. Maher's blood sugar that are unrecognizable
to Mr. Maher himself. Chewie then alerts Mr. Maher to correct it.
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- To see the phenomenon "just makes the hair on the
back of your neck stand up," said Jennifer Kriesel, director of development
at Canine Partners for Life, a Chester County, Pa., organization that trains
service dogs for people with impaired mobility and medical conditions.
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- In June, 2004, Mr. Maher's wife, Jean, found him in front
of the television in his recliner, unconscious. By the time the paramedics
arrived, he had no pulse or heartbeat.
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- After that, Jean Maher would wake up several times a
night to check her husband's blood sugar, and when he was home she would
not leave his side.
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- Then Mr. Maher, 64, a project manager who lives in Plano,
Texas, was paired with his new best friend by Canine Partners for Life.
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- Having a 24-hour canine companion, said Mr. Maher, "will
give both of us greater independence."
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- In the long run, Chewie may also improve Mr. Maher's
health. Tighter blood-sugar control lowers the chance of long-term diabetes-related
complications, such as blindness or amputations.
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- Service dogs assist recipients by helping them balance
or walk, opening doors, retrieving objects -- even phones -- and flipping
light switches.
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- Some, like Chewie, have the additional, innate ability
to sense medical episodes before they have occurred.
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- Alert dogs were first recognized for detecting seizures,
but increasing evidence suggests they can also detect other medical conditions,
such as low blood sugar.
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- Mr. Maher and Chewie are the first diabetes-alert team
Canine Partners has paired up.
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- Chewie's obedience is broken only when he wants to alert
Mr. Maher to check his blood sugar. Each dog's alert is different, and
one challenge for recipients is to recognize when their dogs are trying
to warn them. Chewie stops in front of Mr. Maher and refuses to move.
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- Chewie has alerted Mr. Maher seven times. Originally
skeptical of Chewie's alerts because they would sometimes come right after
he had eaten -- when low blood sugar should not be a problem -- Mr. Maher
checked his level and realized Chewie was right. Every time.
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- At Canine Partners, about three out of every 10 service
dogs appear to have this ability, according to Ms. Kriesel.
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- It's unclear exactly how the dogs sense blood-sugar problems
or impending seizures. It may be changes in a person's scent or electrical
activity in the body or brain, Ms. Kriesel said.
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- Research from the University of Florida finds that some
dogs indeed have the ability to alert, but how they do it is unknown.
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- Now in its sixteenth year, Canine Partners is only one
of about 15 organizations that train medical-alert dogs, according to Assistance
Dogs International, the coalition that sets the training standards.
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- In order to be considered for a service dog, an applicant's
main motivation must be to be more independent, said Darlene Sullivan,
executive director of Canine Partners. "The type of disability is
not important."
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- The service dogs are carefully selected and go through
a two-year training process, yielding at most 28 trained dogs each year.
Canine Partners also requires extensive follow-up and recertification training
on the part of the recipient.
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- Each dog costs about US$20,000 to train, although the
non-profit agency asks for a US$900 donation from recipients. Its waiting
list for dogs is currently eight to 18 months.
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- For Mr. Maher, who used to be reluctant to talk about
his diabetes, Chewie is not only helping him get his life back, but he
is also ushering Mr. Maher out of the diabetes closet.
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- Chewie, Mr. Maher said, "will set me free."
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- © National Post 2005
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- http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/bodyan
dhealth/story.html?id=a26639e4-dcb7-4c5a-a220-3e9ff05c039b
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