Profiles

I am a 26 year old single mum to Calib (6) and Ella (4).  I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2001.  My Dad has had diabetes since he was 1.  Both of my children are about to start a new study on a nasal spray that hopefully will be a vaccine against diabetes for people who have the genes.

I've always had a problem with not knowing when I'm having a hypo, which being on my own with just the kids is really scary.  My close friends and mum do their do their best to keep in contact with us every day, but this makes me feel like a burden sometimes, especially when I call mum in the middle of the night after waking with a hypo!  My kids have had to grow up a lot quicker than most kids.

I found out about diabetic alert dogs through a dog magazine and then in the news about Oscar being banned from school.  I got my chemist to go on the internet and get the phone number for me.  I already had two dogs and was ready to breed my rottweiler.  After speaking to PFD I decided to wait for the new litter to be born.  Bear was the third pup to be born and I took him from his mum for half an hour so he could imprint on me first.  I left him with his mum to feed but the rest of the time he was with me.

Bear first alerted me at 6 weeks old by biting me a lot.  I still wasn't sure if he really was alerting me until one week later when he grabbed my pants and tried to dray me to the kitchen.  I felt fine and thought he was playing, but on my friend Lisa and Bear's insistence I checked my level and I was 2.6mmol/L!  I knew then that I had chosen the right pup. 

Bear has been learning and growing very quickly!  As you may have already noticed, Bear is a pure bred German Rottweiler.  He won't be the first rottweiler service dog.  There is a guide dog in WA for a man who went blind from diabetes.  His first Rotti guide dog (who has sadly passed away) was awarded Canine Hero of 2000.

I'm sure you will all read more about our progress soon.

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