News

Best friend is Paul's lifesaver

AUG 19, 2007

By Denice Rice

Paul Oliver's dog, Rove, proves to him every day that a dog is definitely man's best friend.

Mr Oliver's miniature pinscher is a trained medic-alert dog and can detect when Mr Oliver is at risk of slipping into a diabetic coma.  He then gives Mr Oliver advanced warning by barking at him and nipping his hand.

Mr Oliver has an unstable form of diabetes and gets little warning of potentially life-threatening drops in his sugar level.

Rove has changes Mr Oliver's life.  "The biggest change is sleep.  I'm not afraid to sleep now," Mr Oliver said.  "Sleeping alone was my worst fear, because I didn't wake up when I would have a sugar drop.  I didn't kow whether I was even going to wake up in the morning.  Now if my sugar levels start to drop while I'm asleep, Rove wakes me up and I can fix it."

Mr Oliver lives with his sister and brother-in-law, but now has the confidence to live on his own because of Rove's early warning system.

Rove can give Mr Oliver up to 10 minutes' warning of sugar level falls.

Mr Oliver said Rove was often denied entry to shops and restaurants, even after he explained his situation.

Paws for Diabetics founder and national manager Lorraine Jessep said medic-alert dogs had an identity problem.

"Ninety-nine per cent of people are fully accepting of the dogs once the situation is explained and they've seen the dog's accreditation, but there are a few that take a bit more convincing"  Mrs Jessep said.

Source: Sunday Times, WA

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