Chelmsford, Ont. family fundraising for Diabetic Alert Dog Guide
Costs of training Diabetic Alert Dog Guide can be prohibitive, as Sudbury area family discovers
Sherry Comeau hopes that an online fundraiser can generate enough to purchase her six-year old grandson a Diabetic Alert Dog Guide.
Kaleb Therrien was diagnosed in 2014 with Type 1 Diabetes, but the costs of purchasing and training a dog guide have driven the family to seek funds from the community.
A Diabetic Alert Dog Guide, which can be trained to detect blood sugar irregularities in its handler, can cost $25,000, according to the Lions Foundation of Canada.
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Kaleb's mother, Lise Comeau, says that several close calls prompted the family to consider the dogs.
"[Kaleb] accidentally overdosed himself on insulin one day, and when he got home, in a matter of 10 minutes, he went from a normal number to 1.8 and he was passing out," said Comeau.
Comeau also monitors her son's blood sugar through the night, waking three times to ensure Kaleb's blood sugar levels haven't dropped.
Kaleb's grandfather, Richard Comeau, recalls one particular evening that remains etched in his memory.
"He did not want to go back to sleep, he was afraid to die," said Comeau.
Dogs pick up scent of low blood sugar
Diabetic Alert Dog Guides are trained to recognize the scent of their handler's dropping blood sugar levels and alert them.
"We have local donors that will breathe into the pots when they're in diabetic lows and then we freeze them," says Lions Foundation dog trainer Julie Gaboury.
It's going to change my life.- Kaleb Therrien
"Then we train the dog to recognize that scent — and when that scent is present, to alert their person by pawing them."
The Foundation, however, does not provide dog guides for children under 10, and the Canadian Diabetes Association says it won't fully endorse the dogs until it sees more studies that show how effective they are.
In an emailed statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health says the ministry is "not currently considering providing supports specific to this program."
The family, however, hopes that the dog guide will provide Kaleb with an extra measure of comfort, and that the online community is able to assist them.
Until then, the six-year old remains positive.
"It's going to change my life," he says.
With files from Lise-Marie Fleurent