A well-trained dog recently diagnosed diabetes in a 7-year-old boy. An organization called Drey’s Alert Dogs was training a group of dogs on how to detect diabetes when one of the puppies diagnosed the 7-year-old’s condition.
The organization enlisted small children in a program called “Kids for Diabetics.” The children were brought in so the puppies in the program could be socialized around small kids.
The dogs diagnose diabetes by smelling for blood sugar levels below 80 or above 180.
In the middle of training, one of the dogs began pawing at the little boy and shortly afterwards it was determined that the child has diabetes.
According to the boy’s mom, Kenyatta Carter: “If we wouldn’t have been here I probably never would’ve know that he was a diabetic.”
The woman’s 7-year-old son had been working with the program for the last couple weeks.
Drey’s Alert Dog’s are already successfully diagnosing diabetes in various States including California , Florida, and Ohio.
While the dogs are most commonly used to seek out the most severe cases of diabetes, they apparently also do well with small children.
Here’s a video report that further explores the dog that diagnosed diabetes in the fortunate 7-year-old:
Dogs have performed some pretty amazing feats for their owners, and it seems as if dog trainers and researchers are just beginning to scratch the surface on what man’s best friend is capable of doing.
Do you think dogs diagnosing diabetes is a good use of resources by Drey’s Alert Dog’s?
[Image via 12NewsNow ]
