News

Our Pet Heroes: Puppy Power

SEP 5, 2007

By Kate Hannant

Playing on the floor, my baby son Demarco couldn't have been a happier, healthy baby.  But then at 18 months old, he became ill.  The doctor said it was just a viral infection, but weeks passed and he didn't get any better.  He would point at the tap and when I got him a glass of water, it would be gone in an instant.  Then one night, Demarco started lapsing in and out of consciousness.

"I think he's diabetic," I said as I carried him into the doctor. "And I'm scared he's dying!"

"Your son has type-one diabetes." I was told at the hospital.  I had to learn about insulin and food and give Demarco two injections a day.

I had to carry emergency supplies everywhere.  Hardest of all were the frequent hypoglycaemic episodes.  I never knew when or where one would strike.  If I wasn't on guard, it could prove fatal.

One morning Demarco has an attack at a busy shopping centre.  I frantically unwrapped a chocolate bar to get his blood-sugar levels up and as he lay on the floor impatient shoppers stepped over him.

I was desperate for help and scoured the internet.  I came across Paws for Diabetics, www.pfd.org.au, an Australian organisation that breeds and trains dogs to alert their diabetic owners of low blood sugar levels.  I called them and told them about Demarco.

One month later, they called. "Congratulations, Demarco has been accepted into the program," they told me.

I had to send Paws for Diabetics a sweat sample from one of Demarco's attacks so that the dog they chose for him, Chino, a whippet just eight weeks old, would know Demarco immediately.

Five weeks later Chino arrived from NSW.  We picked him up from the airport and he nuzzled Demarco straight away.  It was like they had known each other for years.  "We're going to grow up together, you're my best friend," Demarco said.

Clearly, Chino felt the same.  Only four hours after returning from the airport I heard his signature alert.  He whimpered and jumped on the couch to dig his snout into Demarco's cheek to say "do something".

I was able to avert an episode straight away.

"Thanks you Chino," I wept.  He was a real lifesaver.

We've had Chino for over three months now and he's much bigger.  We're more used to his warning signals and already our lives are changing for the better.  Demarco's had to spend time bonding with his new pooch but his friends can invite him round to play because their parents are less worried now he has Chino, and I feel so much more relaxed.

Best of all, I've never heard Demarco laugh so much and be so carefree.  His future will be brighter thanks to this little hero of a puppy.

Source: That's Life

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