For most dog owners, their dog is a fluffy companion who relies on you to stay healthy and happy, but for one 7-year-old, his dog is actually the one keeping him alive.
When Luke Nuttall was just two years old, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which blindsided his parents as they had no idea how to keep their son’s blood sugar levels steady. “We don’t have a single member of our family [with diabetes]. I knew nothing about it. Nothing,” Nuttall told CBS News. “A lot of kids die almost at diagnosis. People don’t know the warning signs.”
To make sure Luke’s blood sugar levels were properly monitored, the family got countless meters, monitors, and a continuous blood sugar monitor that is inserted underneath his skin. Despite all these tools, Luke’s best and most accurate alarm system is hid dog Jedi.
After Luke’s diagnosis, the family decided to get an 11-week-old dog, and train him to become his diabetic alert dog (DAD) who can smell Luke’s blood sugar and alert them when his levels get too high, or too low.
One night, Jedi’s training was put to the test when everyone was fast asleep, but Luke’s blood sugar was quickly plummeting. “5 minutes before I took this picture we were all asleep,” mom Dorrie wrote in a post to Facebook. “No alarms were going off, no one was checking blood, no one was thinking about diabetes, and it’s in those moments when our guards are down, when we are just living life, when we let our minds drift from diabetes, that it has the upper hand – and things can get scary very fast…but thankfully we have a Jedi.”
Jedi jumped up on Dorrie’s bed, and actually laid on top of her to wake her up and wouldn’t budge until she got up and tested his blood with a meter. As expected, Jedi was right. Luke’s blood sugar was a staggering 57 mg/dl and dropping fast. “Luke was laying right next to me, just inches from me, and without Jedi I would have had no idea that he was dropping out of a safe range, she said.
“Jedi’s job goes beyond alerting, he also saves Luke from being alone, from being scared; he is his constant companion.”
Watch the entire video below to see how this amazing dog is keeping a little boy with type 1 diabetes alive.
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[Featured image credit: Facebook/Saving Luke]
Dog Saves His 7-Year-old Best Friend’s Life When His Blood Sugar Drops Dangerously Low is an article from: LifeDaily