News

'Bloodhound' Bear deserves a break

AUG 15, 2007

It's often said that a dog is man's best friend.

For Cooloongup resident Margaret Knight, a 26 year old mother-of-two and Type 1 diabetic, her dog is not just a companion, but a living and breathing guardian angel.

Bear, a 10 week old Rottweiler pup, was a gift from the NSW-based non-profit organisation Paws for Diabetics to help in her diabetes management.

He has been trained to give Ms Knight advance warning of an impending hypoglycaemic or low blood sugar episode, which allows her to get prompt treatment.

Ms Knight, who is insulin dependent, says untreated, a hypoglycaemic attack can lead to coma and even death - so Bear must be with her at all times.

"Bear tells me when I am getting sick," she said.  "He has alerted me a few times now when I've had really low blood sugar.

"He's already gone through the alert and sense training and he is learning to do his best to ignore other influences and distraction, like kids who try to pat him.

"He can smell chemical imbalances.  If my blood sugar is too low, he starts licking and nipping my fingers.

"And he'll sit with me until I eat a jellybean.  But if it is too high, he doesn't like the smell and he runs away.  He can even sense other diabetics."

But she said there was little awareness in the community about the rights of assistance dogs and their owners, with "dog discrimination" occurring when shop owners did not understand that she had a legal right to bring her dog inside shops and cafes.

"Every shop you go into you have to explain it all over again," she said.

"And the next time there is a different staff member... now I carry a card with me with the legislation on it, but it's still hard at times."

Ms Knight is not the first to suffer this form of discrimination in Rockingham and Kwinana.

Earlier this year 11-year-old Corey Charles, also a Type 1 diabetic, had his "hypodog" banned from Calista Primary School partly because the school was concerned about allergies.

Corey is now attending a private school.

Source: Sound Telegraph, WA

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