Major, The Diabetic Alert Dog

Meet Major. Major is in training to become a Diabetic Alert Dog (DAD). DAD's are trained to sense high and low blood sugar levels in diabetics. We were approved to get a DAD for our daughter earlier this year. Major is in training with Guardian Angel Diabetic Alert Dogs. Normally, service dogs come from reputable breeders, that maintain very high standards. In this particular instance, that is a good thing, as the amount of training these dogs get is astounding. They cost anywhere from $6,500 - $20,000 based on that training, and they are expected to be serving their "person" for a very long time. As such, it becomes very important to know all about the animals history, and to get a guarantee against hip issues, blindness, or other issues that may be prevalent in poor breeding.



With that being said, we still told our trainer that we would prefer a shelter or rescue dog. And here is where Major came in. He was rescued from an abusive trainer, training him to be a gun dog. He was overworked, and severely abused when mistakes were made. When our trainer found him, he was living in a crate in a trailer, his coat stained from his own urine. But he is a very loving dog, and is responding well to training. His main issue is he can only do 1 thing at a time right now, like "Stay". If he is placed in a stay, he stops alerting low blood sugars for fear of punishment from breaking the stay. Our trainer seems to think she is making progress in this area with him, and she has some alternative training methods she is working with him on. And we, as a family that places high priority on the rescue aspect, are willing to accept what some might call issues, to be able to give a rescue dog a new lease on life, in a very important role.

I left work early today, picked up the kids from school, and raced home to meet the trainer and Major at our house. What we thought would be a fairly short visit, turned into a magical 3 hours. Major is very affectionate, is very good with basic obedience, and is very handsome. He is a Black Labrador, and at first, I thought he was just a puppy, but he is about 18 months old. Apparently for hunting/gun dogs, small, sleek, and quick are all traits that are bred into the dogs. He showed us how well he behaved, and played fetch with us for awhile. At 1 point, we headed outside so he could go potty. My daughter was running around, and being very active. He jumped up on her. That was not common behavior for him. When the trainer corrected him, he jumped on her too. We went back inside, and my daughter told us she was starving. That is a tell-tale sign she is going low. Since Major didn't have his bringsel (a signaling device) he was alerting us anyway he could. We tested her, and her BG reading was 50, very low for her. Major alerted us that Stella was low at our very first meeting! That was amazing to see.

I couldn't have been more impressed with Major. He will make an amazing DAD very soon. He is still in training, so it is too soon to say that he may be ours, but he certainly seems like he'd be a great fit for our family. And he loves to hike, swim, and run!

 We still have a long way to go in our fund raising efforts, so if there is any possibility you would be willing to donate the cost of that next Venti Carmel Macchiatto, please go to our Guardian Angel for Stella Facebook page to learn how to do that. Every little bit counts, and is appreciated! We hope to be able to see him again soon! We will keep everyone updated on our journey.