Dogs with Jobs – Diabetes Detection Dog

Diabetes Detection Dog


There are so many different kinds of Dogs with Jobs those we hear about on a regular basis and those we rarely hear about or see. Rex the Diabetic Detection Dog is one of those we rarely hear about but whose job helps keep two little boys safe where medical equipment cannot. Rex joined the Mullins family in April when he was just 8 months old but already well on his way to becoming a fully trained Diabetic Detection Dog for the two young boys who have both been diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. Rex came from a nonprofit in Virginia called Diabetic Alert Dogs, which trains canines to recognize changes in the blood-sugar levels of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. During his first two weeks with the family, Rex alerted them nearly 100 times when one of the boys had a falling or rising glucose levels that might not seem all that special but he can smell a change in the boys before they or their parents can tell there is a change and before it would show up as anything to worry about with normal testing equipment.

See Rex even though he has only finished his basic detection training can already do more in helping to prevent major danger to the two boys whose blood sugar levels are wildly all over the place then medical machines. Rex was trained to sniff out even the slightest change in the boys sugar level up or down. To a dog our blood sugar level rising lets off a very sweet smell. When our blood sugar drops it lets off an acetone smell. Rex doesn’t just alert at the same time medical equipment would he can tell the family even 20 – 45 minutes before the change would normally be detected and so adults can intervene and make sure the boys receive the care they need whether that is insulin, a drink of juice, or a trip to the doctor. Rex can even detect changes to the boys when he is home and the boys are down the block at a friends house.

As Rex gets older he will continue his training so that he can alert to issues during the night and help the boys deal with the situation himself by getting juice and even calling Fire Rescue. Right now the family is just very thankful for their new addition who has helped keep both boys out of serious danger on mulitple occasions since arriving. The Mullins family for the first time in years can sleep through the night knowing their new Diabetic Detection dog will alert them to any danger the boys might be in while they sleep.


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Comments

  1. What a wonderfully trained dog. The trainer should be applauded. Those are two very lucky boys to have Rex around!

  2. Nicole - Mama to 4 Blessings says

    wow! Dogs are so smart! I am amazed at the things they can do!

  3. Good to see the word is spreading. dogs are very important in many aspects of our lives. thank you for sharing.

  4. Celebrate Woman says

    Felissa,
    I am so happy to see such a public awareness article like this.
    Still many people do not know that such dogs do exist. Some people could truly benefit from such puppies in their lives!
    Excellent!

  5. this is pretty amazing 🙂

  6. Jennifer Clay says

    Wow, that is pretty great!

  7. My mom needs one of these :O)

  8. This is great, thanks for sharing

  9. I didn’t know that a dog can be trained like this. The dog could be better than any other medical equipment in detecting diabetes. I’m still a bit skeptical though but will do more research on this.

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