FORT WORTH -- Brian Worthy was driving his pickup on busy Loop 820 when his chocolate Lab puppy, Ranger, started barking and panting uncontrollably. Worthy, a diabetic since childhood, felt fine, but Ranger's behavior prodded him to pull over.
He took out a meter to check his blood-sugar levels and was shocked to get a reading of 60, which is considered below normal. Blood-sugar levels that are too low or too high can have life-threatening consequences.Ranger, a 7-month-old service dog in training, knew what Worthy did not yet suspect."If Ranger can save my life one time, then he's done his job," Worthy said.While service dogs have been used for years by people with visual and physical impairments, Ranger is among the growing number of dogs being trained to help their masters deal with what are called "invisible disabilities" such as diabetes, seizures and post-traumatic stress disorder.Costing tens of thousands of dollars to educate, the dogs go through months of training to help their owners recognize when they need to take medications or eat to safeguard their health. Diabetes is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act, so the animals can go anywhere.Worthy, 29, of Fort Worth, didn't know that dogs were being trained to alert diabetics until he met someone at a concert in Lewisville who had an alert dog."I thought service dogs were only for blind people," he said.No warning signsWorthy, who works on the joint strike fighter program at Lockheed Martin, was diagnosed with type I diabetes when he was 12. But, while some diabetics know when their sugar levels are changing, Worthy can't tell the difference, because he has a condition called hypoglycemic unawareness, which means he doesn't feel dizzy or lightheaded, often signs of dropping blood sugar.Worthy said he has been in the hospital several times because of his fluctuating blood sugar. He described an incident in a high school biology class in which students were dissecting a cat and he passed out. Fortunately, a friend was aware of Worthy's diabetes and alerted the teacher.Dr. Mary Beth Cox, an endocrinologist, said hypoglycemic unawareness can have serious consequences if a person doesn't immediately take steps to bring his blood sugar back up. The patient can become confused and doesn't know to eat something to boost his blood sugar.Cox said hypoglycemic unawareness often occurs in diabetics who often have low readings, or if they have had the condition for a long time."Hypoglycemic unawareness is dangerous. The brain needs a certain amount of sugar to function. If the blood sugar drops too low, and the person couldn't detect it, he could have seizures. If someone lost consciousness and is alone, they are not in a position to help themselves," she said.A nose for changeThis is where Ranger comes in.Dogs have a highly refined sense of smell, allowing them to detect changes in body chemistry.Worthy began doing research on various organizations and found Warren Retrievers Diabetic Alert Dogs, a Virginia nonprofit organization that trains Labrador retrievers beginning when they are puppies.Worthy worked hard to raise money toward the $40,000 cost of training the dog. He got donations from friends, held fish fries at Olive Place Baptist Church and created armbands that said, "Support Brian's DAD" (diabetic alert dog).Worthy got Ranger in February, and the dog is in the beginning stages of his training, but eventually he will know when his owner's blood sugar is out of balance, and he will even learn how to get help if Worthy is unresponsive and doesn't react to his alerts.Worthy works closely with his trainer, who comes to Texas every 90 days to work with him and Ranger.Ranger can already detect differences in Worthy's scent that indicate a change in his blood sugar and is already making tremendous progress, Worthy said. Ranger is already "imprinted" with Worthy's scent, and he will refine his alerting skills as the training continues.For now, Ranger barks, pants or hiccups to alert Worthy, but eventually he will learn to touch Worthy with his nose or paw to alert him to check his sugar, and if Worthy is unresponsive, Ranger will retrieve medications, juice or other food and even push a button on a device to call 911.Military backgroundDan Warren, who began training diabetic alert dogs because of his experiences in the Marine Corps, said he realized that dogs had tremendous capabilities to detect explosives, drugs, firearms and cadavers. The dogs are also adept at using their noses for search and rescue.Warren, who was diagnosed with diabetes in 2004, doesn't need a service dog to deal with his condition.Yet he realized that the dogs could help people with diabetes have better control over their blood sugar. A dog alerting its owner is often around 45 minutes ahead of when a meter would start to show low readings."A diabetic lives alone and goes into a coma, and their children find them. I paint this picture, and it's a factual picture," Warren said.Warren's organization places dogs with people -- including families with children who are diabetic -- throughout North America and Europe.Worthy does not let diabetes stand in the way of having a normal life, often working long hours but also spending time skiing or at the lake with family. Ranger is learning how to be a part of Worthy's life."Ranger is everything that I expected. All it takes is for him to alert me one time that something is wrong," Worthy said.Elizabeth Campbell,817-390-7696Twitter: @fwstliz
For information
To learn more about Warren Retrievers Diabetic Alert Dogs, contact Dan Warren at 540-523-2307 or visit www.guardianangelservicedogs.org
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