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Hypo hounds to the rescue

JANUARY/FEBRUARY, 2007

By Gillian Nicholson

We all know about guide dogs for the blind and alert-dogs for the deaf, but now there’s a new breed of protection pup on the prowl – canines specially trained to help people with diabetes.

Lorraine Roulston came out of a deep sleep to find her tiny dog Saki sitting on her chest, whining and scratching her neck painfully. Dazed, she felt her neck and, touching sticky wetness, held her hand up in front of her face.

Through sleep-filled eyes she saw blood, then realised why Saki was scratching so relentlessly. “My dog saved my life,” Lorraine says. “She woke me up because I was going into a hypo. I got out of bed, but was so far gone I couldn’t walk. I then had to drag myself to the kitchen to get some lemonade.”

Later she joked to her family the pure-bred Japanese Chin must be psychic, but when her diabetes suddenly became unstable a couple of years ago, causing frequent and unpredictable hypos – and strange reactions from Saki – Lorraine began to see a pattern.

Seeing a news story claiming some dogs could detect an impending drop in blood glucose levels and alert their owners confirmed the suspicions of the former breeder and trainer form Wallangarra in northern NSW.

“Your scent changes when you’re about to go into a hypo. Saki could detect that scent even before I started to feel off,” she says.

“But I was relying on her too much. I had lost the confidence to go out because I didn’t want to leave her behind. So I set about finding out how to get my Saki recognised as a ‘hypo-alert’ dog so she could go out with me everywhere.”

Puppy Power

Lorraine’s quest led her to the Association of Australian Assistance Dogs (NQ), a charitable organisation that trains and provides dogs to help people with disabilities achieve greater independence.

It also led her to a friendship with Barbara Katon, a Sydney dog breeder with type 1 diabetes who had experienced similar alerting behaviour from her canine companion. In 2005, the two dog lovers set up Paws for Diabetics Inc (PFD), a charitable, non-profit organisation of volunteers who train and place the helpful animals with those who need them. And as a member of Assistance Dogs International (ADI), PFD follows the association’s guidelines in their training and accreditation.

“These dogs really are lifesavers,” says Lorraine, whose dog Saki became Australia’s first hypo-alert dog. “We call them the latest tool in diabetes management as they give their owners warning well in advance of an impending hypoglycaemic episode.

“All dogs have the potential to be hypo-alert dogs, especially if they’re young. IF a dog is closely attached to someone special, they can be trained to react when something is wrong. Training the owners is the most important thing, so that they will recognise the dog’s alerting behaviour and then learn how to reinforce it to benefit them,” Lorraine explains.

“Hypo-alert dogs aren’t for everyone and we can’t guarantee that every dog will work out. There will be failures. But when it does work out, people say that it’s truly an answer to their prayers.”

Hypo-alert puppies

Purebred puppies are selecteed, many of them toy size. “Toys are quick to learn and easy to take to places because of their size,” Lorraine explains. Puppies are placed free of charge with suitable applicatnts, then trained until they’re 18 months old. An administration fee of $250 goes towards the cost of the puppies. Before they are fully accredited as hypo-alert dogs, they must pass rigorous tests. Then they can be taken to public places, such as restaurants and hospitals, and on buses and trains.

Carbi is our hero

Carbi has only been in the Yarker household for a short time, but he’s earnt his rawhide bones by giving his owners peace of mind.

For the Yarkers, married for just one year, their hypo-alert puppy is definitely heaven sent. “We have only had Carbi for four weeks and he has already saved James from night-time hypos twice, growling and biting his fingers to wake him up,” says Liz, 24.

“James often has night-time hypos, which he can’t detect while he’s asleep, so having a dog that will detect them for him obviously helps us to sleep knowing that James will wake up in the morning.”

James, 22, who often works night shifts at a Blue Mountains nursing home, was diagnosed with type 1 when he was 14. But his diabetes is part of the more broad-ranging and rare condition, autoimmune polyendocrinopathy which, in James’s case, has caused Addison’s disease (a hormonal disorder) plus other health problems.

“It’s hard for James to manage his diabetes because of all the other complications he has,” Liz explains. “He’s on an insulin pump now, but it’s still difficult to get his levels right.”

Although Carbi (short for carbohydrate), a Chinese Crested Powderpuff, cannot be fully accredited until he is 18 months old, Liz says he’s already changed their lives.

“One day he grabbed James’s jeans and dragged him into the kitchen, then when James stopped drinking the lemonade Carbi started growling again. It’s such a wait off my mind to have Carbi. Never before could I leave James at home alone while he was sleeping. Now I can go to uni without worrying,” Liz says.

The Yarkers are so thrilled with Carbi they’ve set up a family BLOG – staring their fluffy puppy.

“I really want to spread the word about these potentially lifesaving dogs as I know there are lots of families out there with the same worries we have.”

For more information

Many dogs can be trained to become hypo-alert dogs. If you would like to know more about training your dog, or receiving a puppy to be trained, please contact

Paws for Diabetics Inc. www.pfd.org.au

Also, you’ll love reading Carbi’s BLOG www.hypodog.blogspot.com