Dogs are known as man’s best friend because of the selfless and immeasurable love they give to their owners. Individuals living with diseases that impact their well-being on a daily basis rely on medical alert and response dogs not only for their loving companionship, but also for their life-saving abilities.
Research has proven that dogs have a natural ability to sense changes in human bodies through their acute sense of smell. Dogs have more than forty times the number of scent receptors that humans do and are believed to be several thousand times more powerful when it comes to olfactory awareness.
In her book about dog heroes, Canine Courage, Tiffin Shewmake reports that dogs have been trained to smell cancer, low blood sugar levels, and epileptic seizures. They can also predict such medical conditions as heart attack, stroke, diabetes, angina, migraine headaches, and anxiety attacks in humans. It’s an amazing claim that research is starting to validate.
Medical alert and response dogs are trained in “scent discrimination,” which enables them to isolate the distinct smells of various chemical compounds released into the bloodstream that alter a person’s odor. This skill is particularly valuable for people with diabetics.
Dogs4Diabetics (www.dogs4diabetics.com) in Concord, California is a non-profit organization that provides medical alert assistance dogs to youth and adults with insulin-dependent Type 1 diabetes. I visited the facility, the first of its kind, to meet with Director of Development Devin Grayson and Breanne, a long-time volunteer. Both are diabetic and know firsthand the value of living with these specially trained dogs.
The Golden Retrievers in the program receive two years of training from Guide Dogs for the Blind before making a career change. Each one is trained for three to six months at the Concord facility and then gets matched up with the lifestyle and personality of a diabetic companion whom she will serve 24/7.
The dogs are trained to smell changes in body chemistry that result from low blood sugar levels and to alert their owners with a “jump alert,” putting their paws in the person’s lap, or with a device called a “Bringsel,” a nylon covered tube worn around the diabetic’s neck or body that the dog mouths when there is trouble.
Breanne, the volunteer I interviewed, says, “There is no way of missing it when your dog wants to warn you.” Her dog Destiny rescued her for the first time when her blood sugar dropped dangerously low while she was sleeping. “There is nothing in the world that made me feel as safe as I did in that moment with Destiny,” she says.
Cody, Grayson’s dog, has even gone for help when her blood sugar was too low for her to respond. Cody once rescued Devin at a restaurant as her family sat around chatting. “Nobody at the table understood, and they are my support group! But Cody gets it, he is my partner,” Grayson says.
Medical alert dogs for diabetics can also be trained to dial out for help on a K-9 911 phone, or to get juice from the refrigerator for their owners to drink as a way of quickly raising blood sugar levels.
The amazing skills of medical alert dogs are put to work beyond the diabetic community. Seizure alert or response dogs have the ability to detect the onset of an epileptic seizure half an hour before it strikes. When a seizure is imminent, a chemical compound is dispersed into a person’s bloodstream that alters his odor. The trained dogs react very strongly to the altered smell, pawing, barking, and jumping at their owners to alert them that something is wrong. According to the Epilepsy Association of Central Florida, these remarkable canines alert and protect their owners until the seizure passes. They are also trained to open doors, turn lights on and off, pull heavy objects with their teeth, and help their owners off the ground if they have fallen.
Cancer-sniffing dogs may someday be a huge asset in fighting a disease in which early detection can mean the difference between life and death. This canine skill first became known when a woman’s dog alerted her to melanoma by constantly sniffing a skin lesion.
According to an article published in the online journal Integrated Cancer Therapies, published by SAGE Publications, dogs have used their extraordinary sense of smell to identify people with both early- and late-stage lung and breast cancer.
Subsequent research studies printed in the American Veterinary Medical Association confirmed the ability of trained dogs to sniff out both melanomas and bladder cancer. Current research has been testing whether the dogs can find cancer by merely sniffing the breath of the patient with cancer. The results are astonishingly accurate.
Dogs have long contributed to the mental and emotional health of humans. It is becoming clear that they also can protect our physical wellbeing. With further research, there is no telling what health problems dogs may someday be able to diagnose – yet one more reason to honor and appreciate our wonderful canine companions.
Elizabeth Reardon is a long-time animal lover who volunteers at various humane organizations. She recently moved to Oakland and looks forward to working with animals in the Bay Area.
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