Profiles

Hi there! My name is Magali and I'm 31 years old. I have had Type 1 Diabetes since I was 12 (I can't believe that's almost twenty years now). For the first 18 years I took multiple injections of insulin everyday. But for the past two years, I have managed my diabetes with an insulin pump, a new pager-sized device that delivers insulin under my skin, 24 hours a day. The insulin pump gives me better control than needles, but it doesn't replace a working pancreas. I still get the occasional high or low blood glucose level and this is why I approached Paws for Diabetics - to get more warning of low glucose levels (hypos). Hypos are worst at night when I am asleep, as I can't always wake up to treat them. Afterwards, I feel tired and have a headache, and a bad hypo can make me feel too exhausted to function well the next day.

After chatting with Lorraine, I decided that I wanted to get a Diabetes Hypo-Alert dog.  Bonny is a beautiful puppy who comes from a line of alerting dogs. Having the alerting bloodline should make it instinctive for Bonny to alert me to my hypos. Lorraine and Evelyn of Paws for Diabetics will help me out with the training. I think it will be me that needs more training to recognise Bonny's alerting signals, than the other way around!

I study business at a local college and he will attend school with me. He will be the first Diabetes Hypo-Alert dog to go to human school!

Update: February 2007
Bonny started alerting within a month of being placed, and has continued to alert reliably. Bonny is also doing extremely well with the obedience side of his training.

Update: April  2007
Bonny and I are working well together. He continues to alert reliably for low sugars and high sugars. Bonny also alerts me when a pot is about to boil over on the stove. Often I am in another room or outside while pasta or rice is cooking, so this is very handy. Saves a lot of cleaning up.  Bonny does low huffs when somebody is walking outside the house and proper barks when a person is at the door.  He also "kisses" on command and he is fully trained with food refusal. He will wait, even if I press the food to his mouth (he turns his face away). He only takes food when I give him the secret password, and even then he is very gentle and doesn't snatch.

Update: June 2008

Bonny recently passed his accreditation test. I am so proud of him. I was initially nervous about my performance rather than Bonny's, but it went well. I find shopkeepers are mostly welcoming of Disability Dogs and their handlers. In SA, Service dogs or Assistance dogs are called Disability Dogs. We have a Dog and Cat Management Board which also approves Disability Dogs and Bonny was accredited with them when he was 6 months old.
We have been going to our local shopping centre and our beachside suburbs regularly (we both enjoy a walk by the sea). We also swim and even tried boogie-boarding for the first time a few weeks ago. Bonny has a doggy lifejacket so if he gets tired swimming, he can rest and float easily in the water.
Bonny continues to alert for low glucose levels which saves me time and money, as I have appointments that I still have to pay a fee for even if I can't make it. I used to have hypos where it would take a while to recover, and I couldn't drive to my appointments. Thanks to Bonny I am able to catch them earlier, eat less sugary stuff, and save recovery time.
When my glucose is becoming highish, Bonny lets me know too. This has resulted in better glucose control; my HbA1c's are the lowest they have ever been in over 20 years of Diabetes. I catch the highs early enough before ketones set in. 
We are in Grade 3 at obedience school and I've taught him a few extra things myself, like food refusal and some non-verbal hand commands. The people at Dover Dog Club are wonderful and I submitted an article about Disability Dogs to the club's bi-monthly newsletter. You will find some photos of Bonny and I on the club's website www.doverdog.org.au
Most people want to pat Bonny but see the badge on his coat discouraging this and I explain this further, as they are usually disappointed. We have many Disability dogs in Adelaide for other conditions but as far as I know, Bonny is the first for Type 1 Diabetes. 
Some people say the funniest things when they see Bonny. Of course, there is the invariable 'Isn't he sweet!' and 'What kind of dog is he?' (they always think poodle). But one man saw Bonny's L plate and laughingly said 'He'll have his 'Need to P' plate next'.
Bonny has improved my confidence and quality of life so much that I am healthier than I have been in several years. Thank you Bonny! And thank you to the PFD community and team for supporting us.